Aluminum

Aluminum, in its purest state, is a silvery white metal. Its lightweight, non-magnetic characteristics make it ideal for an unlimited amount of purposes.

Aluminum is the third most abundant metal found in the earth's crust, accounting for 8.1%, and contains a characteristic that makes it resistant to corrosion. This makes aluminum a metal widely used for constructing materials that need to be strong, durable, and corrosion-resistant.^[1] Aluminum can be used for constructing aircraft and other transportation equipment, packaging (cans and foil), electrical transmissions, and knife blades, as well as in water treatment.

On its own, aluminum is too light to possess the strength it would need to make it a durable metal. Alloyed with small amounts of other metals, such as copper and magnesium, aluminum is made more durable and useful for the construction of many different materials that require high-strength components.

Aluminum also possesses a high electrical conductivity—80 percent greater than copper—and is commonly used in electrical conductors.

Aluminum has been used for many centuries. Originally known as alum, it was first used in Ancient Greece and Rome as an astringent and a mordant for dyeing. The metal's name was changed several times over the centuries before "aluminum" was settled upon in 1807 when Humphry Davy, who still did not know about the metal’s characteristics, proposed the name.

In 1825, aluminum was discovered in an impure form by Danish chemist Hans Christen Oersted. Two years later, Fredrich Wohler isolated aluminum by mixing anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium.^[2] Wohler also established the density and gravity of the metal that gives it its light and airy characteristics.

The name changed again to aluminium before the American Chemical Society officially reverted to its former spelling, aluminum, in 1925.^[3]

In 1854, Henri Sainte-Claire Deville of France became the first person to commercially extract aluminum. Deville refined Wohler’s method by using sodium aluminum chloride instead of the more expensive potassium. This successful production was the first time aluminum was made commercially available, so much so, that the price of aluminum, which was originally more expensive than gold, dropped dramatically within 10 years.

The Hall-Heroult process was established by two young scientists in 1886. The process, which is still in use today, involves dissolving aluminum oxide into molten cryolite and decomposing it electrolytically when it passes through a current. The result is that the molten cryolite experiences precipitation, making it a commercially viable metal.^[4]

The Hall-Heroult process, while still in use today, uses an artificial mixture of sodium, aluminum, and calcium flourides rather than cryolite, a natural ore found in Greenland.

[edit] References

1. ↑ Aluminum. Hyperphysics. 2008-09-28.
2. ↑ Elemetns. Periodic. 2008-09-28.
3. ↑ Homepage. History of Aluminum. 2008-09-28.
4. ↑ Process. History of Aluminum. 2008-09-28.