Lucite Cube // Molybdenum

If you've ever heard of "chrome moly steel,” that is an attempt at making molybdenum's tongue-twister of a name a little more accessible to the public. The demand for its desirable properties in steelmaking is so strong, however, that it's unlikely it will ever get a more prominent role than the industrial uses where it's employed today.

Interestingly, even though one of its primary qualities in the alloys where it features is as an agent to control corrosion, molybdenum is never found in elemental form in nature. But, luckily, metallurgical recipes often call for purified molybdenum as a starting step so it is not difficult to find sources that specialize in refining it from its ores.

And this is what a generous piece of pure molybdenum looks like. A medium gray with just the merest hint of green evident only when placed next to a reference gray-colored material. In terms of density, it's almost as heavy as lead but is hard like cast iron. This is a cast and hand-polished block of Lucite containing a beautifully prepared piece of pure molybdenum.