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Iridium Ir
Where is iridium used--or where does it impact your everyday life?
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The iridum layer in this geological exhibit is thought to be due to a meteorite impact, which increases the amount of iridium phenomenally. The timing is right for it to be thought to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This sample comes from the Cretaceous-Ternary boundary layer and comes from Raton, New Mexico, USA. It was viewed at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC during a Chemistry One field trip.
WIS Photographer
Fountain pen nibs were made of osmium and iridium at one time. Iridium is a particularly hard metal but expensive. The Nibster notes that the last pen to have iridium in the nib (2.5 %) was the Parker 51 in 1952.
Photographed is an Osmiroid 75 fountain pen with an italic nib. Osmiroid pens were named after the elements osmium, Os, and iridium, Ir, although no nibs have iridium now and the Osmiroid 75 is predominantly ruthenium, Ru.
WIS Photographer
Iridium is used in high-temperaure alloys in bearings of jet engines.
The Pratt and Whitney jet engine in the image is one from the F-35 on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia, USA
WIS Photographer
