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Boron is not a high-profile element. Most people would probably be hard pressed to name an application of boron off the top of their heads. But it's actually fairly common: Borax (as in 20 Mule Team Borax) is hydrated sodium borate. Silly putty, an extremely complex and sophisticated molecular engineering job, uses boron cross-links to give it the critical property of being elastic on short time scales and inelastic on long time scales. This is not easy for a material to do, and boron is the key (see silly putty sample below).
Boron is used to strengthen carbon fiber products such as bicycle frames.
Some very nasty boron compounds have also been used as rocket fuel, because they are able to pack more energy output into a smaller, lighter package than conventional fuels. Unfortunately the compounds in question also kill on contact with bare skin in a matter of seconds. So much for boring boron.
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Outrageous price quote.
Our first attempt at a boron sample involved Ed calling up a chemical supplier. They helpfully supplied a price quote of $2030 (two thousand and thirty dollars American) for one square inch of boron foil. We respectfully declined the offer. You might think that boron would be fairly inexpensive, given that it's dirt common and is the major component of things like Borax. But it turns out it's insanely difficult to fuse and work with, so formed shapes of it are quite unreasonably priced. We are preserving this price quote as a reminder of how much money can be saved by using eBay instead of chemical companies.
Source: Ed Pegg Jr
Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr
Acquired: 15 July, 2002
Price: $0/Nothing
Size: 1"
Purity: 0%
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 Very Odd Lump.
This is a strange-looking lump of solid pure boron. It has several different kinds of surfaces, as you can see if you click on the picture to see the large version. I would love to know more about the means by which this lump was made.
Reader Graham Cowan offers the following theory:From the bottom of p. 4 of this pdf file:"In 1985, Callery repurchased reserve pentaborane fuel from the military and reprocessed it into elemental boron. When this became unprofitable ..." Pentaborane, B5H9, is like all B-H compounds unstable with respect to dissociating into B and H2, so the only processing necessary would have been to heat it in the absence of air and water. (Probably in argon.)
Your nice big photo shows nodular surfaces and fracture ones. I think the nodular surface is where the gaseous BH stuff laid boron down on the hot lump.
--- Graham Cowan Here is his interesting page about boron as a fuel.
And as you can see below, this lump was considerably more cost effective than our first attempted sample.
Source: David Franco
Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr
Acquired: 16 August, 2002
Price: $12
Size: 0.5"
Purity: 99.9%
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Silly putty.
Silly putty contains about 4% boric acid, which is critically important for its bounce characteristic. See here for a reference.
Source: Ed Pegg Jr
Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr
Acquired: 10 December, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 2%
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Sample from the RGB Set.
The Red Green and Blue company in England sells a very nice element collection in several versions. Max Whitby, the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures. Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order.
The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples):
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 25 January, 2003
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 95%
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Sample from the Everest Set.
Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (except gasses) weigh about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Rob Accurso
Contributor: Rob Accurso
Acquired: 7 February, 2003
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: >99%
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 Bottle of lumps.
This is a small bottle's worth of boron lumps similar to the single lump listed above. It represents my element tax extracted on a one kilogram can purchased by Max Whitby for use in the series of museum displays we are building together.
I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster. The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of.
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 5 October, 2003
Price: Donated
Size: 0.75"
Purity: 99.9%
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Boron Nitride ceramic disk.
This ceramic-like disk came from a scrap yard and was claimed to be or contain boron. I don't think it's pure boron, but it could well be a boron nitride ceramic. Unfortunately the analytical instruments available to me don't work on low atomic number elements, so I have no good way of testing what it really is.
Source: John Wechselberger
Contributor: John Wechselberger
Acquired: 15 April, 2004
Price: Donated
Size: 4.5"
Purity: <50%
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Boric acid tin.
Boric acid has some medical applications: The back side of this tin (click turntable icon for 3D rotation) recommends it as an eye wash. It's also used as ant poison.
Source: eBay seller 4thegrace
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 16 March, 2007
Price: $2.50
Size: 3"
Purity: <50%
Sample Group: Medical
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Boron carbide engine sabotage can.
Boron carbide is very hard and can thus be used for grinding. In this case, the idea is to pour some of the dark, oily liquid in this can into the oil supply of an engine in order to cause it to grind itself to a halt. I assume the cylinders either become scored to the point that they can't hold compression, or maybe become jammed by the grit. In any case, this is something you would do only under dire circumstances, for example in war (as this can was intended for), or to an ex-girlfriend or something. Not that I'm recommending that, you could get in big trouble.
Source: eBay seller 4slghmr87
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 8 December, 2007
Price: $66
Size: 3"
Purity: <20%
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Tourmaline (Dravite variant).
I'm not sure why I have this mineral: I think it may have been a free sample included with some other mineral purchase. Lovely, though of relatively undistinguished chemical composition.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 20 September, 2005
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Composition: NaMg3Al6(BO3)3[Si6O18](OH)3(OH)
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