2006-09-21 09:18:53 · 3 answers · asked by angeleloves 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Iridium is in the same chemical group as platinum, so it shares many of its properties.
As a metal, it's silvery-white with a very slight yellowish cast. Here's a link to a picture:
http://www.pniok.de/ir.htm
It gets its name ('iridium' means rainbows) from the many brightly-coloured salts it forms. I couldn't find all that many... it's discoverer probably just thought it was a lot compared to some of the other metals: iridium triflouride is black, diiridium trioxide is a bluish-black, iridium oxide is brown, and iridium hexaflouride is yellow.
In nature, most of it is found in the metallic state, usually alloyed with other metals like platinum and osmium (it was first found as an impurity in platinum samples). Hope that helps!
2006-09-21 09:27:28 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Iridium is a metal. It is shiny and silvery white.
2006-09-21 18:09:11 · answer #2 · answered by science teacher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
silver-white
2006-09-21 16:27:28 · answer #3 · answered by eldridgejoe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋