If the addition of the lithium cube was an agonizing wait stretching years that of the sodium was an unimaginable surprise. All of the issues that prevented the making of lithium are again present in the case of sodium except with the added complication that this metal is even softer and more reactive. In fact, while lithium sizzles in water sodium explodes - an effect that is as entertaining as potentially dangerous (just search on YouTube). The conversion into a cube plus the extra difficulty of preserving it in its metallic form presents a challenge that is as entertaining a puzzle for nerdy engineers as tossing it into a pond is for the average kid.

As you can see from the photo of this initial prototype, geometric perfection remains an elusive target. The various surface imperfections visible attest to the extreme difficulty of accomplishing the seemingly simple task presented by the creation of this basic geometric shape. That it can be engraved with our standard template really is a victory lap of sorts; an exclamation mark of what can be accomplished with given lots of perseverance and heaps of knowhow in equal measure :-)

After bringing to market the glass cubes with various gases many customers had asked why we hadn’t thought to fill them up with the alkali metals that can’t be exposed to air. It’s not that we hadn’t thought of it. The glass cubes are really just re-formed glass tubing meant, in lab use, to hold gases and liquids. The equipment that can fill a gas line is unsuitable for transporting metal in any form. Where there’s a will there’s a way though. Thanks to the effect of persistent nagging through the years a method was finally found to accomplish this task. No idea what McGiver-like contraption gets the job done here but we now have glass cubes filled with sodium as an alternative to the formed cubes.

Please note these cubes will not fit in any of our current display cases.