Atoms of the same element are identical. The atoms of the one element are different from those of any other element. 3. Atoms of different elements can physically mix together or can chemically combine in simple whole-number ratios to form compounds.
iridium (symbol Ir) Silver-white, metallic element discovered in 1804 by the English chemist Smithson Tennant. A platinum-type metal, iridium is hard and brittle and the most corrosion-resistant metal. very rare element (0.0001 ppm of Earth 's crust), iridium is found in the naturally occurring alloys osmiridium (approximately 50% iridium) and iridiosmium (approximately 70% iridium) in Alaska and South Africa. It is obtained by igniting ammonium chloroiridate, (NH 4) 3 IrCl 6, in hydrogen atmosphere.
In 1978 geologist Walter Alvarez found an unusually high concentration of the element iridium in a layer of clay. This layer formed at the time dinosaurs and many other organisms went extinct. The iridium deposits were a great surprise, since iridium is very rare at the Earth's surface.