Iridium is ametal. Like other metals in the platinum group, Iridium is a rare and expensive "noble metal" and is atransition metal. It looks likeplatinum and is found inasteroids andcomets. It is exceptionally hard-wearing.
Iridium deposits are used to identify relative dates of collisions of foreign bodies. Iridium can fold and bend just likealuminum, and remains very shiny. Most iridium is found in the Americas, though some is mined inMyanmar,South Africa, and Russia. Iridium melts at 2410 °C, and boils at 4130 °C. It is the mostcorrosion-resistant metal.
Iridium is not needed in thebody. It is used for the tips of pens. The main uses of iridium are the metal itself and its alloys.
A man named Smithson Tennant first found it in the year 1803 and is was named afterIris in Greek mythology. Smithson Tennant found it in the remains when he left crudeplatinum in a mixture ofhydrochloric acid andnitric acid.
