Indium

Atomic Number: 49
Symbol: In
Atomic Mass: 114.82 u
Number of Neutrons: 66
Melting Point: 156.6°C
Boiling Point: 2072°C
Electrons per shell: 2.8.18.18.3
Electron configuration: [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p¹

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Indium is the 49th element in the periodic table and it is part of the post-transition metals. This element is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. Fun fact: you can chew indium like chewing gum! Indium's appearence is silvery-white that is similar to tin. Indium is relatively rare, around 0.21 parts per million of the Earth's crust. Indium is used to make low melting alloys and sometimes even used to make mirrors. Indium is found in ores with zinc, and is moderately toxic. This element was discovered in 1863 by Ferdinand Reich at the Freiberg School of Mines in Germany. The way he isolated this element was that Reich had been looking for traces of the element thallium in samples of zinc ores, and then found a whole new element.

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