Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element, that has been feared since Antiquity due to its toxicity.
Note that due to linguistic sloppiness, we apply the same term - arsenic - in English for
the chemical element, that by itself is practically harmless, and for the oxide (i.e.,
arsenic oxide) much in vogue among crime authors to bump off rich aunts, scorned
lovers, witnesses, and whoever else may be in the way. When we see Arsenic as
specimens, it is usually massive black chunks or aggregates of globular masses, and it is
quite characteristic to the trained eye. However, when freshly exposed in a mine, it is
grey with a submetallic luster, and miners previously mistook it for valuable ore and
sent it to the smelters, where it would burn to arsenic oxide, poisoning people, and
obviously yielding no metal whatsoever. For this reason the globular variety, that was
very abundant in German silver mines, was called 'Scherbenkobald' by the miners,
'Scherben' for shards, 'Kobolden' were vicious gnomes, and 'Kobald' something the
Kobolden had made. This is obviously provided for your information only, do not try
this at home, etc., and our web site is obviously only read by honourable people of good
breed, but in case somebody else snug in through the back door: Don't even think of
buying our Arsenic and bump off your aunt. In spite of arsenic's popularity in novels, it
is one of the least desirable murder weapons. It is easily traced by any crime technician,
even in minute amounts, and the flavour is absolutely disgusting! Fatal dose of arsenic in
aunties glass of port? Forget it! Take the word of somebody who tasted it: you can not
cover the flavour of one fatal dose of arsenic by all the curry consumed by the Indian
army.
Specimen Handling
Arsenic is for all practical purposes stable in a normal household environment. It is not
harmed by light, changes in temperature in the normal comfort range, or known to
decompose. Arsenic specimens can be brittle and should be handled with care like any
other mineral specimen. Arsenic is not appreciably soluble in water. Note that Arsenic,
by itself, is not toxic - but 'by itself' is the tricky word, it is hardly ever by itself!
Arsenic specimens often carry associate minerals of arsenic oxide (in the form of
Arsenolite or Claudetite), that are toxic and should kept away from children and others
prone to lick their rocks or not wash hands after handling specimens. Over time,
Arsenic specimens may decompose slightly, and form a white coating of arsenic oxides.
Bibliography
Anthony, John Williams, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh & Monte C.
Nichols. 1990. Handbook of mineralogy, vol. 1
Blackburn, William H. & William H. Dennen. 1997. Encyclopedia of mineral
names. Canadian Mineralogist, special publication 1.
Gaines, Richard W., H. Catherine W. Skinner, Eugene E. Foord, Brian Mason,
Abraham Rosenzweig & Vandall T. King. 1997. Dana's new mineralogy: the
system of mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 8th
ed.
Hintze, Carl (ed.) 1898-1904. Handbuch der Mineralogie, vol. 1, section 1.
Noe-Nygaard, Arne. 1966. Mineralogi, 3rd ed.
Palache, Charles, Harry Berman & Clifford Frondel. 1944. The system of
mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University
1837-1892, 7th ed. Vol. 1.
Ramdohr, Paul & Hugo Strunz. 1980. Klockmann's Lehrbuch der Mineralogie,
16th ed.
Roberts, Willard Lincoln, Thomas J. Campbell & George Robert Rapp jr. 1990.
Encyclopedia of Minerals 2nd ed.
This page is authored by Claus Hedegaard.
