A light-hearted survey course that I, Alexis Clements, put together for my former work colleagues upon the occasion of our weekly beer drinking celebration. Some of the links are dead (I apologize in advance for that), but some people seem to enjoy this, so I've left it up. Click here to return to my homepage.

A Brief Survey of Artistic Representations of Social Interaction:
From the Caves of Lascaux to the Halls of CIW

Unit 13 - Metallicity

Countless great artists of the world have used metals in their work, bending, molding, shaping, burning and boring it into the desired shapes. The shiny or lustrous surfaces seem to forever attract the eye and the mind, whether it be of the alchemists or grooms searching for a ring for their bride.

Alexander Calder
Black Spot on Gimbals, 1942
wire, wood, and paint
16 x 19 x 8 1/2 in.
Calder Foundation

But metal comes in many forms, and with many characteristics: dull, corrosive, and occasionally explosive.

I urge you to explore the links listed below, which are concerned with the characteristics of a certain breed of metals (please note that I do not endorse experimentation with any of these metals, as a rule):

Relative Reactivity of Alkali Metals
Sodium Party (unfortunately not a new third political party in the US)