Mysterious compound

runmitch16 · Mar 5, 2007

hey this is my first post and i have some sort of compound sitting in front of me that my teacher has asked me to figure out and i just need some help it looks like small black beads and are pretty shiny plz answer back

Doodan · Mar 5, 2007

if it's black then it's carbon
can you provide any more specifics?

runmitch16 · Mar 5, 2007

well i just was messing around with it and its very malleable

‡brandon · Mar 5, 2007

try to see if you can scrape some peices off of it with a knife. If its like dust then its probly carbon.

runmitch16 · Mar 5, 2007

haha wow i never even thought of that lol yea they are just like little carbon beads thanks alot guys it writes like a pencil

chemisttree · Mar 6, 2007

What about lead shot from a shotgun shell?

chemisttree · Mar 7, 2007

It could also be bismuth shot from an eco-friendly shotshell.

The magnetic properties of bismuth are very different that for lead or graphite.

Of course it could be a shot sample of a variety of metals. See here:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Area_of...noelectronics/Electronic_Grade_Materials.html