indium

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the soft, silvery-white chemical element with symbol In and atomic number 49

   Indium-115 can absorb a neutron and form a radioactive isotope.

Coined in 1863 from indigo + -ium after the bright indigo-blue line seen in the element's emission spectrum. The spectral color, rather than the metal's silvery appearance, supplied the name.

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