Subject: What does Ossium 187 / Rubidicum TASTE like?

From: [email-masked] (Rowdy Blokland)
Date: Sun, 4 Dec 1994 13:22:43 GMT

I've got this really simple question regarding two chemical substances. 
  By stating 'chemical substances' I merely mean to cover up my total igno-
  rance of chemistry. They sound like metals to me, but you may call me an
  idiot if you must.

  QUESTION: WHAT ARE: * ossium 187, and
                      * rubidicum

            GOOD FOR?
            I.e., WHAT industries use them for WHAT purposes;
                  what type of products can you manufacture with 'em?

  Any responses wrt this subject, tips, hints, pointers, 
  or downright lies (as long as they make me laugh) are more than welcome!

  Thanks in advance,
  cheers,
  Rowdy Blokland
  Delft University of Technology.

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From: [email-masked] (James Kirkpatrick)
Date: 4 Dec 94 15:52:38 MST

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Rowdy Blokland) writes:
|>
|>  I've got this really simple question regarding two chemical substances. 
|>  By stating 'chemical substances' I merely mean to cover up my total igno-
|>  rance of chemistry. They sound like metals to me, but you may call me an
|>  idiot if you must.
|>
|>  QUESTION: WHAT ARE: * ossium 187, and
|>                      * rubidicum
|>
|>            GOOD FOR?
|>            I.e., WHAT industries use them for WHAT purposes;
|>                  what type of products can you manufacture with 'em?

I've never heard of either of these, at least with that spelling.

There is a metal called Osmium, "a hard brittle blue-gray or blue-black
polyvalent metallic element of the platinum group with a high melting
point that is the heaviest metal known and that is used esp. as a catalyst
and in hard alloys.".  Atomic number 76, atomic weight 190.2.  For more
stuff, you might consult the Merck Index.

Rubidium "a soft silvery metallic element that decomposes water with
violence and bursts into flame spontaneously in air."  Atomic number
37, atomic weight 85.4678.  Rubidium is used in precision frequency
sources such as the color oscillators in TV transmitters.  Again, check
the Merck Index for more information.

I wouldn't recommend tasting either of them!

Jim

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From: [email-masked] (Peter Gans)
Date: Sun, 4 Dec 1994 21:51:42 +0000 (GMT)

>  QUESTION: WHAT ARE: * ossium 187, and

When Caesar crossed the Rubidicum he took his Ossium over the Fossium and 
declared "Alea Jacta Est". 187 was the number of the Legion.

Peter Gans

School of Chemistry,           
The University of Leeds,     Tel +44 532 336409
Leeds LS2 9JT,               Fax +44 532 336565  
England.                     WWW http://chem.leeds.ac.uk:80/chemistry.html
                                                           /people/gans.html
               The Joy of Chemistry
                 + ion-pairing -

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From: [email-masked] (Alden Hackmann)
Date: 5 Dec 1994 18:35:10 GMT

>I've never heard of either of these, at least with that spelling.

Osmium tetroxide is used in molecular biology and (I believe) electron 
microscopy.  Quite toxic.  As a general rule, don't taste anything 
that the FDA hasn't approved.  There were quite a few dead chemists 
resulting from taste testing.  For example, ethidium bromide is a potent 
mutagen and carcinogen, and the Merck index lists it as having a somewhat 
bitter taste.  Scary. 

Alden F.M. Hackmann                        [email-masked]
Dept. of Pathology, University of Washington
"Clear analysis of any situation is frequently mistaken for pessimism."