Metallic chemical element , one of the transition element s, chemical symbol Ir, atomic number 77.
A very rare, precious, silvery white, hard, brittle metal that resists most acid s, it is one of the densest substances known on Earth. It probably does not occur uncombined in nature but is found in natural alloy s with other noble (i.e., chemically inactive or inert) metals. The pure metal is too hard to work with to have any significant uses; alloys with platinum are used in jewelry, pen points, surgical pins and pivots, electrical contacts and sparking points, and extrusion dies. The international prototype kilogram, the primary standard (see weights and measures ) for weight, is made of an alloy comprising 90% platinum and 10% iridium. The discovery of abnormally high amounts of iridium in rocks dating to the boundary between the Tertiary periods led to a much-debated hypothesis that an iridium-containing {{link=asteroid">asteroid striking Earth led to a catastrophic chain of events including the extinction of dinosaur s and many other forms of life.