Molybdenum has no claim to fame. It is a blue collar metal, like iron or manganese, but with the added disadvantage of a funny name that causes those who are not careful to spittle embarrassingly when pronouncing its name. That it is the quintessential gray of a generic "metal" is another ding to its popularity. It does not form pretty crystals nor can it be used for anything in its pure elemental form as moisture causes it to tarnish. Damn moly, tough break!

So in this section that is devoted to gallery grade samples what can one do with such humble fare?

Well, a lot as it turns out. Inside this protective dome we present a bar reaching an astonishing 99.999% of purity. The method used is the same familiar zone refinement process invented in the early 1950s to make germanium and silicon crystals of the very high purity needed in electronics. For this use something as trivial as a small cluster of atoms of some unexpected element can render worthless an entire chip many trillions of times bigger in size. This process, known as the Czochralski method, relies on a heated stylus 'combing' these cylinders over and over, dragging with it a bit more of those impurities on each pass. That back and forth raking takes place in slow motion - about as fast as a clock's minute hand in some cases - meaning that each bar can take days to get it to the target purity. That combined with the monster amount of electricity required to heat the moving section to its melting point does mean that the initially dirt cheap starting metal becomes very expensive.

There's an added element of interest with these particular rods as they were made by Russian scientists during the closing days of the Soviet Union. The box that they came in had this tag showing a 1991 manufacture date making them a cold war era relic and leaving one to speculate for what purpose they were intended. That each one weighs 220 grams (half a pound) and they just happen to be very shiny is yet another welcome bonus!

Now, you might want to practice saying "Czochralski molybdenum" a few times out loud before showing off your prized specimen ;-)