Indium (In)
"The Touchscreen Titan, the invisible hero whose conductive touch makes all our screens work."
A memorable persona to anchor In in your mind.
7.31
Grams per cm³
156.6
Celsius (°C)
193
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Indium is found in the transparent coating on a smartphone or tablet screen.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1863
Discovered By
Ferdinand Reich & Hieronymus Theodor Richter
Origin of Name
"The name comes from the Latin ''indicium'', meaning violet or indigo."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
114.818 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
2027°C
Electron Configuration
[Kr] 4d105s25p1
1st Ionization Energy
5.786 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Indium is a very soft, silvery-white metal."
Did You Know?
The primary application of indium is to make indium tin oxide (ITO), which is transparent and electrically conductive, making it essential for producing LCD screens, touch panels, and solar cells.
When a bar of pure indium is bent, it emits a distinctive high-pitched "cry" or squealing sound due to the rearrangement of its crystals.
It is named after the color indigo, because of the bright indigo-blue line in its atomic spectrum.
Indium is so soft that you can easily bite into it or scratch it with your fingernail.