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The Soft Metal Miracle of Indium: Why is it so soft that even a knife can cut it easily?
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. A silvery-white transition metal, it is one of the softest metals known, making it vital in many technological applications. The discovery of indium can be traced back to 1863, when German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Richard used spectroscopy to find the element indium and named it by its appearance in the spectrum. Named after the indigo lines.
Indium is considered a technologically critical element and is used primarily in the production of flat-panel displays, particularly in the preparation of transparent and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO).
Physical and chemical properties of indium
The physical properties of indium are quite unique. It has a Mohs hardness of 1.2, so it can be cut easily by a knife. This property makes indium very advantageous in certain technological applications and is one of the reasons why it is widely used in electronics. Indium has a low melting point of only 156.60°C (313.88°F) and has good plasticity.
When indium is bent, it emits a high-pitched whining sound, caused by the rearrangement of its crystal structure.
Chemically, indium usually exists in the +3 oxidation state, i.e. indium(III), but can also exist in the +1 oxidation state in certain circumstances. This is due to the influence of indium's outer electrons on its chemical behavior, and makes indium behave very differently from its cousins gallium and thallium.
Indium isotopes and compounds
Indium has many isotopes, a total of 39 known isotopes, of which only indium-113 is stable. Both the half-life and radioactive characteristics of the isotope significantly affect the use of indium. Indium compounds, such as indium (III) oxide and indium (I) compounds, are important materials for research and application, and have a place in the semiconductor industry.
Indium(III) oxide is formed by burning indium metal in air or heating its hydroxide or nitrate, and it is amphoteric and can react with both acids and bases.
Applications of Indium
Indium has a wide range of applications, including industry, medicine and environmental protection. Its use in second-generation thin-film solar cells and as a transparent conductive material in liquid crystal display panels demonstrates the importance of this element. With the development of technology, the demand for indium is gradually increasing.
Especially in the production of liquid crystal displays, the demand for indium has reached 50% of the total demand.
Environmental impacts and biological roles
Although indium plays a key role in many high-tech applications, its safety and environmental impacts remain a concern. Indium has no known biological effects, and its compounds are toxic if inhaled or injected into the blood. Therefore, factory workers are relatively vulnerable to exposure to the hazards of indium.
"Indium lung" is a rare lung disease that has been observed in people working with indium.
With the growing importance of indium in modern industry, how to balance the need for information and its potential hazards has undoubtedly become an important topic. In the future, as technology further develops, how will we understand and apply this exotic metal?
