Across the Fence: Bismuth

How do you feel about chemistry? I’m not talking about that between people but that of the periodic tables in your former classrooms. As uncomfortable as I do? I have to admit that I had to look this one up because I knew it was on that table but never had to deal with it. And isn’t it something pretty?! The only difference in the English and the German pronunciation is the “th”, of course – in German it’s simply pronounced like a “t”. There is also the version of Wismut, just a typical variation of a “v”-sound having changed to a “b” (or was it vice versa?).

According to Wikipedia, the German term wesemut (pronounce: ‘va-za-moot) was already mentioned in 1390; it is based on a translation of a work by the 1st century Greek doctor Dioskurides that mentions a word very similar. Other sources apparently claim it derives from the term “weiße Masse” (pronounce: ‘vice-ah ‘muss-ah, meaning white mass), as there was an application for a mining permit back in the 15th century in the German Ore Mountains. The Royal Society of Chemistry, another of my sources, leans to the latter. South American Inkas also used Bismuth in an alloy for their statues in the 1500s.

Bismuth, with the periodic symbol BI and the number 83, was long deemed to be the heaviest non-radioactive element, but a few years ago, somebody figured out it was actually very slightly radioactive. The metalloid with its low conductivity has often been confused with lead, as its melting point is apparently very low, and in nature it looks greyish – not as colorful as after some heating …

From the start, Bismuth was used to create cast type for printers and for decorated caskets. In Southern Germany and Switzerland, Wismutmalerei (pronounce: ‘viss-moot-‘muh-lah-‘rye) – painting with Bismuth – was invented in the 16th century. Today, you can find the brittle metal used in alloys for fire detectors and extinguishers, in electric fuses, and for soldering. There are a number of industrial uses for Bismuth – you might want to look them up yourselves because – to be honest – I don’t want to start how it comes in handy in nuclear submarines or in technical ceramics. Chemistry is simply a tough one for me and, therefore, not very entertaining. But this column still ought to be entertaining … to a point.

Bismuth can be used as a non-toxic substitute for leaden birdshot. But in specific compounds, it is also used as a pearlescent pigment in cosmetics and as a highly weather-resistant greenish-yellow pigment in lacquers and paints. In medicine, different Bismuth compounds were once used as ingredients in healing powders for open wounds and preceded antibiotics for various treatments of internal conditions. Bismuth compounds are still used for the treatment of ulcers, of diarrhea, as a detector in tomographies, and in ointments for inflamed baby skin.

I wonder what my favorite chemistry teacher, who never lost his patience or kindness towards me over my struggles with his subject, would think that I actually tackled an element of the periodic table of my own free will. That’s what Germanisms in the English language do to German-Americans. Sometimes … Don’t bet on it that I’d do this again. But for once, I guess, what I learned by the research will stick more than any atomic analysis and compound theory I had in school.