iridium

noun

irid·​i·​um i-ˈri-dē-əm 

: a rare silver-white hard brittle very heavy metallic element see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of iridium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By spreading out iridium atoms on a piece of manganese oxide – one of the most common compounds in Earth’s crust – a team in Japan reduced the amount of iridium needed by 95%, while maintaining hydrogen production. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 July 2024

PGMs are critical to the energy transition and demand for platinum and iridium are forecast to rise sharply, as both are used to make electrolyzers, a critical technology for producing low-emission hydrogen. —Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 15 Nov. 2023

Triplet sensitizers typically contain a heavy metal like palladium, iridium, or platinum. —Tracy H. Schloemer, IEEE Spectrum, 19 Sep. 2023

Platinum is part of the six platinum-group metals (PGM), including palladium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, and osmium. —Laxmi Corp, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Greek īrid-, îris "rainbow, iridescent halo around the moon, a flame, etc., iris entry 1" + New Latin -ium -ium; from the colors produced by dissolving it in hydrochloric acid

Note: The word iridium was introduced by the English chemist Smithson Tennant (1761-1815) in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1804, Part II, p. 414: "As it is necessary to give some name to bodies which have not been known before, and most convenient to indicate by it some characteristic property, I should incline to call this metal Iridium, from the striking variety of colours which it gives, while dissolving in marine acid." See also osmium.

First Known Use

1804, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

iridium

noun

irid·​i·​um ir-ˈid-ē-əm 

: a rare silver-white hard brittle very heavy metallic element see element

Medical Definition

iridium

noun

irid·​i·​um ir-ˈid-ē-əm 

: a silver-white hard brittle very heavy metallic element of the platinum group used especially in hardening platinum for alloys (as for surgical instruments)

—symbol Ir see Chemical Elements Table