Indium

Chemical element symbol is (In) and atomic number 49.

Indium is a Rare Earth Metal classified in the group of Intermediate Rare Earth Elements (ETRI).

Rare Earth discovery during the Civil Wer, Indium is introduced to the public in large quantities for the first time at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. On the other side of the Atlantic, in the quiet town of Freiberg, two German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Theodor Richter analysed a sample containing traces of thallium and fell on an indigo spectral line thallium. They soon realized that they had discovered a new element.

Indium shiny and silver is very soft in its pure state. You could burn or cut shapes with your fingernail. But it resists when bent. The crystals disintegrate, back in place on their own and produce a squeaking.

Its commercial use as coating for bearings of aircraft engines began during World War II. Today it is found in all LCD displays, touch screens, iPhones, flat screens, and portals as well as in computers that are among the most popular articles of the 21st century.

Most indium is used to make indium tin oxide (ITO), which is an important part of touch screens, flatscreen TVs and solar panels. This is because it conducts electricity, bonds strongly to glass and is transparent.