Elements at Walmart (31)

It's amazing how many elements you can buy in reasonably pure form at Walmart: My list currently contains 31 elements. (When I say "Walmart" I really mean any combination of grocery store, hardware store, and pharmacy. Walmart just happens to be the most common and most diverse store most people in the US would be familiar with.) To get on this list, an element has to be available in such a store in reasonably pure form, not in an alloy or compound. Platings (e.g. chrome plating) do count, and in some cases it may be necessary to dig the element out from inside a consumer product. Note that if you look at any individual element, I may not have actually gotten the sample from Walmart, and the sample might not even be of the kind of thing you can actually get there. I hope to have such samples filled in eventually.

Click any element tile below to get the full entry for that element, or click on the sample picture to go directly to the description of that sample.

Text and images Copyright (c) 2003 by Theodore W.Gray.

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002 Helium
002 Helium
Party balloons and home-use helium tanks

Source: Walmart
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 7 August, 2002
Price: $20
Size: 18"
Purity: >90%
003 Lithium
003 Lithium
Photo batteries

Source: Radio Shack
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 7 August, 2002
Price: $3
Size: 2"
Purity: >95%
006 Carbon
006 Carbon
Electrodes in standard batteries, charcoal

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $5/battery with 4 of them
Size: 3"
Purity: >95%
008 Oxygen
008 Oxygen
Brazing torch cylinders (maybe a stretch at Walmart, but any hardware store will have it)

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 5 August, 2002
Price: $5
Size: 12"
Purity: >95%
007 Nitrogen
007 Nitrogen
I have read that certain refrigerated foods are packaged under nitrogen, but have not confirmed this definitively.

010 Neon
010 Neon
Novelty lamps, indicator lights on many products

012 Magnesium
012 Magnesium
Camp fire starters

Source: Walmart
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $4
Size: 3"
Purity: 97.2%
013 Aluminum
013 Aluminum
Pans, and thousands of other items

014 Silicon
014 Silicon
Any toy with a chip in it

Source: The Tech Museum, San Jose, California
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $20/unbroken wafer
Size: 1.5"
Purity: 99.9999%
016 Sulfur
016 Sulfur
In the pharmacy

Source: Walgreens Pharmacy
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 18 April, 2002
Price: $2
Size: 2.5"
Purity: >95%
018 Argon
018 Argon
Ordinary light bulbs

Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 1.5"
Purity: >90%
022 Titanium
022 Titanium
Camping and bicycle parts

024 Chromium
024 Chromium
Plating on many shiny items

026 Iron
026 Iron
Nails, etc.

028 Nickel
028 Nickel
Plating on many shiny items

029 Copper
029 Copper
Wire

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $1.50/foot
Size: 1.25"
Purity: >99%
030 Zinc
030 Zinc
Galvanized steel items

036 Krypton
036 Krypton
Flashlight bulbs

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 May, 2002
Price: $2
Size: 0.75"
Purity: >90%
041 Niobium
041 Niobium
Body jewelry, earrings (probably varies store to store)

Source: eBay seller pinta-beads
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 July, 2002
Price: $10
Size: 1"
Purity: >80%
044 Ruthenium
044 Ruthenium
Plating on jewelry (pewter-colored)

Source: eBay seller shining-jewel
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 14 February, 2003
Price: $45/necklace
Size: 0.15"
Purity: 99%
045 Rhodium
045 Rhodium
Plating on jewelry (very shiny)

Source: MrValue Jewelry
Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr
Acquired: 20 July, 2002
Price: $10
Size: 0.75"
Purity: >90%
047 Silver
047 Silver
Jewelry

050 Tin
050 Tin
Lead-free fishing weights

Source: Walmart
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 April, 2002
Price: $14/10 bags of weights
Size: 1.25"
Purity: >95%
054 Xenon
054 Xenon
Flashlight bulbs and camera flashes

074 Tungsten
074 Tungsten
Incandescent bulb filaments

078 Platinum
078 Platinum
Jewelry and spark plugs

Source: Auto Parts Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2003
Price: $5
Size: 3"
Purity: >90%
079 Gold
079 Gold
Jewelry

080 Mercury
080 Mercury
Thermostat switches

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $10/new thermostat
Size: 1"
Purity: >95%
082 Lead
082 Lead
Fishing weights, bullets

Source: Gun Shop in California
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 April, 2002
Price: $0.20/bullet
Size: 0.5"
Purity: >95%
083 Bismuth
083 Bismuth
Eco-friendly shotgun shot

095 Americium
095 Americium
Smoke detector ionization detectors

Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 May, 2002
Price: $10/smoke detector
Size: 0.075"
Purity: >90%