#indium

Twisted ingot - Indium sample

I created this ingot by melting some indium I had (most of my indium in fact - my only other piece is a "bullion" bar by Luciteria). I twisted it as well to display indium's iconic softness. This was created to represent indium in my WIP poster, but I haven't taken a professional photo of it yet.

Source: Me

Date of Creation: 16 June 2026

Fieldoscopy reveals femtosecond optical switching in 15 nm indium tin oxide nanocrystals

Just as an antenna interacts with radio waves, light interacts with metallic nanostructures. Therefore, understanding how a structure influences field oscillations provides valuable insights into the structure's physical properties. An international research team, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), is investigating the changes in field oscillations that occur when light interacts with indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals. This will deepen our understanding of how the interaction between light and these nanocrystals depends on time. Precise and high-speed control of light is crucial to optical communication. It opens up the possibility to transmit data more quickly and efficiently in the future. Optical switches, which can activate or deactivate light pulses selectively, are a key component in achieving this.

Beyond silicon: An indium selenide roadmap for ultra-low-power AI and quantum computing

A research team led by Prof. Seunguk Song from the Department of Energy Science at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), in collaboration with the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), the University of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, has developed a comprehensive technical roadmap for two-dimensional (2D) indium selenides (InSe)—a key material for next-generation low-power and quantum computing. The study, titled "Indium selenides for next-generation electronics and optoelectronics," was published in Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering. This research provides a deep dive into the physical properties and device applications of 2D quantum semiconductors, which are viewed as a definitive alternative to silicon as it reaches its physical scaling limits.

… look what someone did

Please don't though, it feels weird if you do that to me...

I'm atomic number 49!

I was in a Vsauce video!

Alloys: Galinstan

The eutetic alloy of gallium, indium, and tin is often known as Galinstan, though the term is also technically a brand name. The alloy name is derived from the names of its three component elements, using the Latin for tin (stannum). Composition can vary in commercial Galinstan, but the eutetic of the alloy is 68.5% Ga, 21.5% In, and 10.0% Sn.

Galinstan is primarily used in liquid metal applications and has a melting temperature of around −19 °C (−2 °F), making it a liquid at room temperature. One application is the replacement of liquid mercury, as a non-toxic alternative in thermometers. It can also be used as a thermal interface material, or in electrical circuits.