November 21st is the birthday of one of the men who co-discovered indium metal back in 1863. Hieronymus Theodor Richter, along with F. Reich, made the discovery but it wasn't until 1924 to 1933 when Daniel Grey created a process to extract and refine indium that the commercial possibilities began to be explored. Their work led to the founding of The Indium Corporation in 1934.
Dr. William S. Murray, the founder of Indium Corporation, received the first patent to process indium in 1926. The first commercial quantities of indium were discovered in Kingman, AZ in the same year.
The importance of indium metal grew through the rest of the 20th century, in conjunction with each new technology discovered. Whether it was its malleability (even at cryogenic temperatures), its low melting point, its electrical conductivity, or its thermal properties, indium has become a standard in almost every industry for unique as well as common place applications.
Today indium is used in a variety of applications: as a low melting solder in electronics applications, as a coating for touch screens, LCDs, and solar panels, as well as a thermal interface in many of our heat-producing electronics.
Although indium has a relatively short history, particularly from a commercial standpoint, new discoveries and applications for this unique metal continue to be made.
For more information on indium, go to www.indiumsolders.com.