Sodium

I've always wanted to play around with Sodium, see it sizzle and catch fire in the water, etc. So, eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and get some.I looked up online to find the best price and I couldn't find any place that had a better price than this, BY FAR. I'm not sure about the reviewer who said that he could find it for three times cheaper. That would be $5 for 15+ grams, so I don't know...After I received the package (a bit late and I was starting to worry, but the vendor was very responsive and told me if I didn't get it he would mail another package) I opened and, like most have reported, I found the plastic jar leaking quite a bit. Additionally, my sample was definitely NOT packed with mineral oil. The liquid inside the jar smelled like lighter fluid or something similar.So, I put on some gloves, took the pieces out one by one and carefully dried them from the lighter fluid with a paper towel. I had to be pretty quick doing it, because the pieces would start heating up in my hands if I lingered too long. I live in Florida so I know there is a ton of humidity int he air. If you are in the desert you will probably not have to rush as much, but in general it's not a good idea to leave the pieces of Sodium exposed to air for too long.I put all the pieces in a clean glass jar full of mineral oil, let them settle overnight (they put out some small bubbles at the beginning, probably because of the transition and brief exposure to air) and then took them out again to weight them. Now, I thought that what I got was more than 15 grams because it looked like a lot, but I'm not too familiar with Sodium so I wanted to see exactly how much I got. When I put them on the scale I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the weight was 44 grams!!! Obviously some of the weight was the mineral oil sticking to the Sodium chunks, but I think it's very safe to assume that I got AT LEAST 30 grams of Sodium, which for $15 is an amazing deal!I then broke off a small piece and threw it in the water, it popped almost immediately. FYI these pops can be pretty loud, so be careful where you experiment with it, before you get neighbors complaining and sending cops to your door.So, bottom line is, I think this Sodium samples are a very good deal. Yes the packaging sucks. And I also wished I didn't have to get rid of that lighter fluid or kerosene or whatever was used to ship them. It's also possible I got lucky with my sample and others might get less, but even if it's just 15 grams, I still think if you just wanna play around with Sodium, this is your best bet. If you found this review helpful, please consider leaving me feedback. And if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

The shipping time was a bit long, but it came to the US from a small supplier in Russia, so it's understandable. The product image is misleading, though. It had me expecting to receive a sample of pure sodium metal safely stored in a jar of mineral oil. However, while I certainly did receive the advertised quantity of pure sodium metal, it arrived in a vacuum sealed plastic bag like you would normally store food with. (Think FoodSaver). This was a bit disconcerting, as my part of the country has 2 reliable weather conditions. Humid or rain. It also had either a layer of some type of coating or oxidation on it, making it a dull reddish tan. I was a bit concerned about having to open it and transfer to a mineral oil bath for safer storage but I was able to do so without incident. The dull coating also dissolved away after a couple of days in the oil, leaving me with a quite beautiful if somewhat flattened sample.

When I ordered this it was pictured submersed in oil. I got it in an envelope. It had been rolled flat and vacuum packaged. This packaging leaked air. In that the sample was so flat, it had a very large surface area. This left the bulk of the sample exposed to the air, oxidizing as it traveled here. If that weren't bad enough, the package itself weighs just over seven grams (as postmarked!). I was promised a 15 gram sample!The oxidation can be cleaned, but after those loses there won't be enough left for me to complete my procedure. Very disappointing!At the time I ordered this I had thought (in error) that this was a difficult item to find. And that this price was good also. It is about three times the going rate ordered directly from a stateside vendor.UPDATE 9/2019 - When I made this purchase the price was nearly thirty bucks delivered. I see some contemporary reviews doubting the price could be much lower, but they are now paying $12 for what I got (closer to a fair price, but still overpriced). Even here on Ebay this NEW price can be beaten easily by buying a slightly larger quantity. Though frequently packaged in oil it is not hard to clean. However, better vendors ship sodium packaged in argon, no messy cleanup.I would like to think my review, this vendors first, may have gotten the price and service to improve some. It is clear that the deceptive photo has been changed. That is a good representation of what I received. There is very little chance of that package making it from Russia without a leak.

Just got mine. Only comment is in regards to other reviews saying it has unimpressive results..I experimented a bit and it does depend on the water source. my tap water tests right around neutral. it fizzled for quite a while. I added a little vinegar and it fizzled a lot. pure vinegar and it burst into flames.Edit: tried other variations. It will combust in regular water but must be in larger chunks. Perhaps a larger mass to Surface area ratio..

PROS:This is sodium metalIt arrived very fast shipping from India.CONS::it arrived corroded making it possibly dangerous to cut and use:it was shipped in a small thin plastic bag, not glass or even a plastic vial for safety.:Lastly this piece shipped with a thin coating of oil, not in a bath as it is supposed to be that is extremely dangerous as it could react with moisture in the air while shipping, and likely why it corroded so badly.I will order from other sources.Bottom line, order it if you have to but make sure you have oil, storage containers and a method to clean your sodium on hand. I'm not even gonna get into the way it was labeled to ship. I'm just happy it got here....