What is Indium

Sources: Google images

Indium is one of the softest metal that looks silvery white and has a bright lustre. It was discovered in 1863 by two German Chemists, Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter. The metal got it's name because of the indigo blue colour in its atomic spectrum. There is enough abundance of Indium just as much as sliver but it's accessibility is much easier than silver. It is easily found along with zinc, iron, lead and copper ores. One of the most interesting properties of Indium is that it doesn't react with water. It has a very low melting point and low boiling point. And just because of this property Indium is ideal for soldering. It offers easy working conditions at low temperature. Indium has one more unique property, it makes a sound or a 'tin cry', when it is bent which resembles a low scream.

Uses of Indium

As Indium is known to access even distribution of lubricating oil, it is used to coat the bearings of high speed motors. Indium is used to make various electrical items such as rectifiers and photo conductors. Being as reflective as silver, Indium can be used to make mirrors. Because of it's use in production of LCD monitors, televisions and display screens, there has been a great demand for Indium in the recent times.