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Because of its higher melting temperature, compared to palladium and gold, these plugs can provide a better performance than other plugs except for some ruthenium alloys.
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Its use in spark plugs that is anti-corrosive and heat-resistant providing longer lasting and seemingly care-free plugs. ApplicationsĮven though being one of the rarest elements in the earth, iridium does provide a good degree of functionality serving many purposes. It is also a by-product of the nickel mining process. Each is a different mixture of osmium and iridium. It occurs in nature uncombined, combined with platinum, or found in the natural alloys of osmiridium and iridosmine. Most acids do not cause damage due to its high corrosion-resistance. Its high hardness, brittleness, and high melting point (approximately 2500 degrees Celsius) make the metal difficult to work with or form. It has a silvery-white color resembling platinum and palladium. Iridium is part of the platinum group metals (PGMs). The name was chosen as Iris, personification of a rainbow, due to the diverse colors of its salts.
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Even though Tennant is credited with its discovery, a few French chemists had also claimed credit to discovery the element. It was found in the residue of platinum ores. Iridium was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant. This was done by comparing the high metal occurrence found near the craters with chondritic meteorites and asteroids, which have a higher concentration than in the earth's crust. Being one of the rarest elements in the crust of the earth, iridium has been used to show a link between dinosaur extinction and impact craters. It was discovered by scientist Smithson Tennant in 1803 and named after the Greek goddess Iris. It is the second densest metal next to Osmium. Its chemical symbol is Ir with an atomic number of 77. Iridium is a transition metal from the platinum group. is not very liquid so its price can shoot up if there are no sellers," German refiner Heraeus says.Iridium is a platinum group metal and is one of the rarest metals on Earth. Technical problems at South Africa's Anglo American Platinum mining group last year combined with the coronavirus outbreak and lockdowns to hamper operations.Ī decline in demand for platinum has meanwhile had a knock-on effect on iridium which is mined with it. It has a niche role too in helping disinfect water carried as ballast by ships, seen as a key conduit for the transport of invasive plant and animal species around the planet.Ī 2019 accord reached under the auspices of the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires ship operators to treat ballast water before it is discharged into the sea.Ī troy ounce (31 grammes) of iridium currently costs about $6,000, having tripled over the past four months, largely due to scarcity of supply. Those qualities make it especially sought after for mobile phones, where demand is soaring as 5G technology is rolled out, and in hydrogen fuel cells, potentially a key component in the transition to electric vehicles. Iridium is well suited to several industrial applications "because of its high melting point, hardness and resistance to corrosion," said John Plassard, an analyst with investment house Mirabaud. South Africa "accounts for some 80 percent of the six to eight tonnes of iridium mined each year," Vincent Donnen, at the top School of Mines in the eastern French city of Nancy, told AFP. It is extremely hard, with a very high melting point and is resistant to corrosion. Iridium is a by-product of platinum extraction and is used particularly in the electronics and chemical industries. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.