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My Tungsten Cube (2019)

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Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#31

Post by Cous_Cous_Cous »

I held a neptunium (20.45 g/cc) sphere once. It was about the size of a baseball and I hard the hardest time lifting it. It was like lifting a full gallon jug of milk when you think it's empty - you apply a force and it doesn't budge. I had to lift it as if I was lifting a stack of books to get it off the pedestal.

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#33

Post by _caw »

> I struggled a lot with deciding to buy a cube. It felt wrong to spend so much money on a featureless hunk of metal.

When I bought my cube, I used it as an exercise to fight back against my frugality.

But it wasn't meant to be: it was delivered to the wrong address and I received a full refund.

Then my neighbor delivered it to me.

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#34

Post by SoylentYellow »

devindotcom wrote: post #23

Cool cube and I want one. But a metalworking friend of mine warned against getting a ring made out of tungsten. Apparently a climber had one on and broke his ring finger, and the EMTs couldn't get the ring off because the finger had swollen and they couldn't cut the ring due to the strength of the metal. They ended up having to amputate and re-attach the finger (much longer and it would have had to be amputated anywa…

I'm surprised the EMTs did not know how to remove the ring. Squeeze it with locking pliers and it will break into pieces.

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#36

Post by ISL »

foobarian wrote: post #7

I often marvel at the densities of the various heavy metals especially compared to steel. The densest of them like osmium are almost 3x as dense! I wish I could afford an osmium cube. I guess tungsten is the best cheapest-yet-still-heavy option.

Osmium is not good for you.

If tungsten isn't dense-enough for you, consider platinum or rhenium.

Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)

#37

Post by nimbius »

I work sometimes in a metal shop where Tungsten alloys abound. This might be the stupidest hn post I've ever read.

You bought a piece of metal at vastly inflated prices for a very narrow range of performance over a specific set of conditions. Nothing more. Being the hardest isn't being the best. Tungsten is extraordinarily brittle. A hard drop on concrete could crack it.

I'd also argue without a MA (metal analysis or labsheet) you probably bought some tungsten. Lead, slag, tin and other undesirable byproducts also weigh a lot. Your cube, without proper inspection, may also be slightly radioactive as its likely sourced from scrap. This could be good or bad, but the cube most definitely isn't a meaningful purchase.

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