New Chrome Wheels

[Scotty]

I just got a set of the Chrome Wheels. They look pretty nice but they have a blue tint to them. If you look straight at the wheel it looks like chrome but from the side they have a blue hue. But they sure do dress up my I167 for only $200 instead of $400, thanks to the Segway close out.

[SegwayDan]

That's because it's not chrome (chromium) as such. It's indium:
"Indium is a very soft, silvery-white metal with a brilliant lustre. The pure metal gives a high-pitched "scream" when bent. It is useful for making low-melting alloys. When plated or evaporated onto glass, it forms a mirror as good as that formed by silver, but with superior resistance to atmospheric corrosion. Indium is a byproduct of the formation of lead and zinc. Indium metal is isolated by the electrolysis of indium salts in water. Chemical formula = In." http://www.pca.state.mn.us/gloss/srchResults.cfm

Knowing that indium is soft, you may want to be careful when cleaning your wheels.

[sombody]

Sometimes its hard to get a strait answer- Indium IS silver/aluminum and is chromish The blue metallic coating that someone at Segway has mistakenly called Indium - looks like iridium- the ri looks like an n.

Im sure it is faux iridium-

rick

[SegwayDan]

Sometimes its hard to get a strait answer- Indium IS silver/aluminum and is chromish The blue metallic coating that someone at Segway has mistakenly called Indium - looks like iridium- the ri looks like an n.

Im sure it is faux iridium-

rick

Well, I'm no chemist or metallurigist, but comparing the characteristics, at least, of indium and iridium, I'd say it's most likely what Segway lists on its site: indium.

Here's the reference from wikipedia of iridium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium#Notable_characteristics

Here's the desctription on Segway's site: http://shop.segway.com/detail.aspx?ID=35 They say's it's flexible and corrosion resistant. Iridium is apparently brittle and hard, where indium is indeed soft and corrosion resistant, per by previous post.

[yosgof]

The main thing is what you think. If you think they are chrome then they are!

[sombody]

Hey- your right - a closer look at the Iridium coating on the Oakley sunglasses is more chrome/titanium and not blueish

But then again neither is the indium for sale on ebay- looks more like aluminum

Just wondering where the metallic blue comes from - Maybe its burnt indium -

rick

[bystander]

Well, I'm no chemist or metallurigist, but comparing the characteristics, at least, of indium and iridium, I'd say it's most likely what Segway lists on its site: indium.

Here's the reference from wikipedia of iridium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium#Notable_characteristics

Here's the desctription on Segway's site: http://shop.segway.com/detail.aspx?ID=35 They say's it's flexible and corrosion resistant. Iridium is apparently brittle and hard, where indium is indeed soft and corrosion resistant, per by previous post.
http://shop.segway.com/images/shop/blue_wheel.jpghttp://shop.segway.com/images/shop/silver_wheel.jpg
There seem to be two different wheels here. One that is more noticeably metallic blue and the other which is primarily chrome with slight iridescent blue features.

1843000001 - Wheel, Metallic Blue (1 per kit) - ID=20 (http://shop.segway.com/detail.aspx?ID=20)
1843000002 - Wheel, Metallic Silver (1 per kit) - ID=35 (http://shop.segway.com/detail.aspx?ID=35)

SegwayDan's link pointed at the Metallic Silver wheel, I think he may have meant to point to the Metallic Blue one, which contains the phrase "The flexible indium plating..."

The Metallic Blue webpage also uses the phrase "metallic finish in an indium blue color"

I take this to mean that the color of the wheel can be described as "indium blue" in the way that the I-167 can be described as "titanium", that is, merely the color of the paint.

Although I haven't a clue whether what's plated on the wheels is chrome, silver, aluminum, iridium or indium, I get the impression that "indium" is so named not due to it's appearance in the metallic state, but by the indigo hue of it's spectrum when vaporized in an evacuated tube and current is passed through it. As neon naturally glows red, and mercury naturally glows ultraviolet, so indium vapor naturally glows "indigo". According to the references disclosed on this thread the appearance of indium metal itself is similar to untarnished silver.

In it's favor, indium - being soft ought to conform and adhere to the plastic wheels better than something like iridium, which is more brittle and could chip off.

Another way of looking at it:

The metallic blue wheel indeed appears blue, but couldn't the metallic silver wheel be considered as chrome with an iridescent coating (that appears blue-ish under certain lighting conditions)?

Maybe someone inadvertently employed the word iridium or indium when they in fact meant to use the word iridescent. This oversight may even have been made at the place that does the plating and passed on.

[SegwayDan]

Well, I think they're BOTH indium, and perhaps the blue one has some additional dopant or tint thrown into the mix.

[sombody]

Maybe the i ndium is close to the same hardness as the pvc plastic rims so it will also dent a little bit and not chip. Good idea,

I guess the blue must be an irridescent blue metallic coating put over the top of the indium.

rick