Usual crystal growth requires a very still solution with no movement, and a very slow cool down period. I did quite a lot of experimenting with this method and found that bismuth does not behave ...

Ram Mohan looks at how bismuth — a remarkably harmless element among the toxic heavy metals in the periodic table — has sparked interest in areas varying from medicinal to industrial chemistry.

Bismuth crystal. Bismuth is a heavy, brittle, crystalline metal. This rectangular crystal structure only forms when bismuth is slowly cooled in the laboratory, never in nature.

March 19 (Reuters) - Bismuth prices in Europe have surged to all-time highs as China's export controls squeeze supplies of the mineral used in atomic research, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals ...