Indium

rare metal · soft element · spectroscopy

Discovered by spectrum. Scientists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Theodor Richter found indium in 1863 by looking at the light it gave off, which had a unique indigo blue line that no other element had.

Silvery and squishy. Indium is a soft, silvery-white metal that's one of the softest elements on the periodic table. You could almost scratch it with your fingernail.

Between two neighbors. Indium sits between two similar metals called gallium and thallium on the periodic table, and its properties are kind of like a mix between the two of them.

Rare and special. Indium is not easy to find in nature, which makes it a rare and valuable element that scientists had to search hard to discover.