 Elemental bismuth is denser in the liquid phase than the solid , a characteristic it shares with antimony , germanium , silicon and gallium . Bismuth expands 3 @.@ 32 % on solidification ; therefore , it was long a component of low @-@ melting typesetting alloys , where it compensated for the contraction of the other alloying components , to form almost isostatic bismuth @-@ lead eutectic alloys . 
