Vanadium (V)
Purity = 999
Image taken with 35mm camera and a 135mm lens, set at macro for close-up focusing, shutter speed = 1/250th of second in bright sun using 200 film and developed by Kodak 1 hour commercial labs and then digitized.
No sublimates extending outward away from heat source.

Image created with B&L SZ5 microscope @ 40 power, coupled to a ccd camera and computer.
This powdered metal appears to have partially melting, but would not coalesce into one metal bead, and some absorption into the plaster tablet has occurred.
Color of metal and absorption is correct.

Vanadium (V)

30x
Vanadium 99.5%
This crystalline Vanadium would not produce a sublimate on either a white or blackened plaster tablet, nor would it melt but would glow cherry-red.
No distinct odor was apparent.

Because Vanadium would not produce sublimates I mixed/melted approximately an equal amount of 99.5% Lead with the 99.5% Vanadium.
This white plaster tablet clearly illustrates how Vanadium reacts to heat as an alloy with lead. Furthermore, Lead by itself does not produce this type of sublimate.
I used Lead to alloy primarily because Vanadium and Lead sulfides are known to co-exist in nature.
Very little heat has been applied and unique colored sublimates quickly formed, but would quickly fade as the heat dissipated from the tablet.

10x
This image is of the above photo.
Direction of flame producing sublimates is easily visible. Because the ccd microscope camera produces a rectangular image I have to position the tablets this way to get as much in the overall image as possible.
Colors are close to accurate.

20x
Color = close to accurate, excepting the reflect white light and some shadowing.
Pb & V alloy as shown in the above image.
The reddish-orange glob on this button appears to be red lead oxide as a glaze.
Careful examination shows a distinct crystal structure.

The blackened plaster tablet shows the bluish-white Pb sublimate and a center area with faint red–yellow and green-yellows indicating the V & Pb alloy.
The torch flame has burned off some of the soot surrounding the metal alloy.
The odd shaped white marks at the bottom right side of plaster tablet is where I held the tablet with needle nosed pliers while I blackened the surface with a flame from propane torch without any mixed oxygen.