At nearly $50,000 a kilogram, this very rare form of phosphorus is in precious metal territory. That should be surprising when you take into account that this element normally trades for pennies a ton. This pricing disparity is the widest in the whole of the periodic table with the famous exception of carbon with, of course, soot being valued at literally less than dirt while diamonds, well… you know the rest of the story.

Unlike the case with diamonds, however, very very few people have heard of black phosphorus much less prize it so highly. Advanced R&D facilities have been asking labs to produce this material because of a number of promising characteristics with applications in electronics, medicine, optics and potentially even substitute precious metal catalysts. Turning this dirt-cheap element into the coveted black type however is at present an enormously difficult task requiring technology similar to preparing synthetic diamonds; in fact, the cost directly correlates.

If a new method of preparation can be invented there will be a world of opportunity for this new class of synthetic phosphorus. In the meantime you can score a bit of this ultra-exotic stuff for your collection with which to bore your family come next Thanksgiving!