Metals are n’t typically something we call up of as chewable ( unless you befall to be the Iron Giant ) , but there seem to be an exception – In . sample to gnaw on some steel and you could land yourself a visit to the dentist , but atomic number 49 ? That can be champ on like a slightly moth-eaten stick of gum tree .
What is indium?
Indium is arelatively rarified , metal chemical element that was discovered back in 1863 by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Richter , though they ’d afterward have a bicker about which one of them really discovered it .
Before their fall out , however , they named the new constituent after the Romance Christian Bible for reddish blue or indigo , indicum , since its spectrum produced a brilliant indigo line . To see at with the naked eye though , atomic number 49 is actually silvery - white and glistening .
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As you might have guessed from what we mentioned above about being able-bodied to chew it , indium is also super diffused ; it can be cut through with a tongue or scratched with a fingernail .
Indium can “ cry ” , too – yes , really . If you bend a turn of indium , it makes a richly - shift , almost crunch - like stochasticity . This is the phone of change in its crystal lattice as the metal is being manipulated .
Should you chew indium?
There are other metals that are belike chewable , but you really would n’t want to bind in your mouth . You could probably flex a flimsy cartoon strip of lead with your dentition , or attempt to manducate it with some trouble , but … uh , you definitely should n’t do that look at thatlead is very , very toxic .
Indium , on the other hand , is presently considered to be low in toxicity , although it ’s deserving pointing out that theLos Alamos National Laboratorysuggests that “ maintenance should be taken ” until we know more about the metal . Indium lung disease , first identify in2003 , is be intimate to dissemble doer expose to atomic number 49 tin oxide .
Still , that has n’t stopped multitude from sinking their dentition into some , let in the host of democratic YouTube channelVsauce , Michael Stevens .
“ Biting into it was n’t as hard as I await , ” said Stevens in avideowhere he took a bite out of a lump of atomic number 49 . “ It was kind of like refrigerate Milk Duds . ” It did n’t taste quite as good as the delicious chocolatey confect though manifestly – in fact Stevens tell that it tasted like “ nothing ” .
suffer a chomp on indium , then , does n’t really seem all that appealing compared to even gum tree , if you forget the fallal of it for a moment . If the lack of nip does n’t put you off , keeping yourpearly whitesunscathed might . Indium might be softer than other metals , “ but it ’s probably not the best thing for your teeth , ” Stevens take note , “ so do n’t do this at base . ”
