Phil Zarrow: Jim, I don't think most people realize, but new colors are rare, and the idea that generating new pigments is not a very common thing. And yet, my understanding is that there's a new blue coming out.
Jim Hisert: There is. Yeah. It's a mixture of yttrium, indium, and manganese, and it goes by the loose term YInMn Blue. It's relatively a new thing for the pigment world, and also for the indium world.
Phil Zarrow: Very good. What are some of the applications for this particular pigment/alloy?
Jim Hisert: Well, the nice thing about this particular blue is it's a very, very bright blue, and it's also an inorganic blue. That is where it's unique, because with it being inorganic, it brings with it a permanence to the pigment, and you can put it in applications which are going to see a lot of sunlight, a lot of weathering, and it's going to hold up to the environment. It's also being looked at for applications for cooling architectural structures. It's going to look beautiful.
It can also be skewed towards different greens, or other variants—it doesn't have to be just blue—and for some very intense colors that last for a long time.
Phil Zarrow: Interesting. So, it doesn't, how do you say, degrade with, as you're saying, to ultraviolet rays and other environmental forces.
Jim Hisert: Right.
Phil Zarrow: Very cool, very cool.
Jim Hisert: Yeah, I'm sure you've probably seen some cars that were older cars that are blue, and they're faded?
Phil Zarrow: Right.
Jim Hisert: It's the idea; this is going to be a blue that stays around for a long, long time.
Phil Zarrow: Very cool. You're the guy to come to at Indium for application ideas and thoughts and challenges for this?
Jim Hisert: Right.
Phil Zarrow: How can they reach you, Jim?
Jim Hisert: Well, they can always contact me at jhisert@indium.com. The Indium Corporation webpage, www.indium.com, is a great place to learn about our products, and we do talk about...since this is a relatively new Indium type of application, the Indium Blog is a nice place to check in every so often, as we talk about what's currently happening with the development of this.
Phil Zarrow: Very good.
Jim Hisert: Yeah.
Phil Zarrow: If you have an idea or a challenge that's making you blue, contact Jim. Jim, thank you very much.
Jim Hisert: Thank you, Phil.
Phil Zarrow: Appreciate it.
Jim Hisert: You're welcome.