Element 83 · Post-Transition Metal
Bismuth
Bismuth is a heavy metal that is genuinely non-toxic — found in stomach medicines and replacing lead in fishing weights.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
Bi
ATOMIC NO.
83
ATOMIC WEIGHT
208.98
CATEGORY
Post-Transition Metal
PERIOD
Period 6
GROUP
Group 15
Discovery & History
Bismuth has been known since antiquity, often confused with lead and tin due to its similar appearance. Medieval alchemists and metallurgists used it in low-melting alloys and as a pigment. The German mining community called it Wismut — a name whose exact origin is disputed but likely references the "white mass" found in Saxon mines.
In 1753, French chemist Claude François Geoffroy the Younger formally established bismuth as a distinct element, separating it from lead and antimony. It gained pharmaceutical use in the 19th century — bismuth subsalicylate, still sold today as Pepto-Bismol, was used to treat stomach ailments and diarrhoea. Bismuth was also used in cosmetics, hair dyes, and as a pigment for oil paintings.
Through the 20th century, bismuth found a niche as a non-toxic substitute for lead in solders and shotgun pellets. Its unusual property of expanding slightly upon solidification — rare among metals — made it valuable in precise casting applications.
Quick Overview
Bismuth is element 83, a brittle silvery-white post-transition metal with a distinctive iridescent oxide layer. It has the unusual property of expanding when it solidifies (like water), making it useful for type metal castings. Bismuth is the heaviest stable (very weakly radioactive) element.
Where It's Used
Pharmaceutical compounds (bismuth subsalicylate is the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol). Lead-free solders for electronics and plumbing. Lead-free fishing weights and shot. Low-melting-point alloys for fire protection sprinklers and fuses. Cosmetic pigments (bismuth oxychloride provides pearlescent effects).
Can You Sell It?
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Bismuth:
Bismuth scrap volumes are very low in the UK general market — the metal is used mainly in alloys at small percentages (lead-free solders, fusible alloys) where recovery is uneconomic at consumer level. Bismuth scrap goes to specialist alloy producers, not general scrap yards.
Price Guide
Bismuth metal trades at $3–8/kg with limited consumer scrap markets.