If there's a science equipment you are looking for, this is it.
The fact that there's the word platinum there is a hint, its about the size of a large thimble or single shot glass.
Its worth about, ah, I dunno, US$1000+
Its used in a laboratory to incinerate something, something they need to weigh before and after, and they need exact weights and a crucible that will not react with the substance.
For some reason when I first found this out, I had a 'déjà vu' moment......
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The other is this thing. Its a 'Thermal cycler' used for gene splicing and such. Their value can vary a lot, $50-$5000.
The reason its expensive is this.
No, that's not Brass..... Its Gold. A block of Gold. (With holes in it)
Now a Thermal cycler is a very expensive price of equipment (getting cheaper) that heats a special protein (DNA etc) up and down in cycles, often changing temp by 0.1 °C but normally 3-10°C at very set and strict timing and ramping. Very often and over a longish set time.
Mess it up and the substance is ruined. (Like evidence, or a multi million $ new strain of plant DNA)
So they need a block that's got good heat absorption, Golds good for that, so is Silver.
Now these places bought these things at prices years ago that matched cars, they use them for a few years, get a new one, dump the old one.
Modern ones are probably Aluminium, often I see them for sale 2nd hand on the internet without the blocks, somebody's caught on to this situation.
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