Indium Facts
Indium Facts
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| Interesting Indium Facts: |
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| Friedrich Reich and Theodor Richter discovered indium in 1863. |
| After isolating zinc chloride from several minerals, they searched for the element thallium using spectroscopy. |
| Instead of thallium, they discovered a new element that emitted a deep blue spectral line, hence its name, indium (indigo). |
| In the Earth's crust, it is the 61st most common element. |
| Indium is found in the crust at around forty-nine parts per billion, or about as common as mercury. |
| There are less than ten known indium minerals, and none are found in major deposits on Earth. |
| Indium is a poor metal, as its melting and boiling points are lower than the transition metals. |
| Indium does not react with water. |
| There are thirty-nine known indium isotopes, but only one of them is considered stable. |
| Of the unstable isotopes, the two most stable have half-lives of more than one hundred trillion years, and 2.8 days. |
| All of the remaining unstable indium isotopes have half-lives of less than five hours. |
| Indium is characterized by a high-pitched screaming or crackling sound when it is bent, which is a phase change at its structure's atomic level. |
| Decades after its discovery, indium's most valuable use was discovered, which was stabilizing non-ferrous metals. |
| Indium is extracted predominantly from the dust and slag leftover during zinc production. |
| It is also found in copper, iron, and lead ores. |
| Indium production is currently about 475 tons per year from extraction, and another 650 tons per year from recycling. |
| Demand for indium has increased greatly since it is used in the production of LCD monitors, televisions, and display screens. |
| Due to demand for this application, the price of indium per kilogram has increased almost tenfold since 2002. |
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