Wikijunior:The Elements/Aluminum
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Aluminum is a metal that is known for its resistance to corrosion and its light weight. Aluminum is used in many industries to manufacture a large variety of products and is very important to the world economy.
[edit] What does it look, feel, taste, or smell like?
Aluminum is a soft, lightweight metal usually has a dull silvery appearance. This dull appearance is caused by a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when the metal is exposed to air. Without this layer of oxidation, aluminum has a bright and clear silvery appearance.
[edit] How was it discovered?
Friedrich Wöhler is credited with isolating aluminum in 1827 by mixing anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium. The metal, however, had indeed been produced for the first time two years earlier — but in an impure form — by the Danish physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted. Therefore, Ørsted can also be listed as the discoverer of the metal.
[edit] Where did its name come from?
In 1807, Sir Humphrey Davy was trying to isolate aluminum from a mineral called alumina. He first called the metal alumium, but decided to call it aluminum in 1812.
Did You Know?
- Recycling aluminum requires one twentieth as much energy as producing aluminum from raw ore.
- Aluminum is the most common metal in the earth's crust.
- Aluminum and Aluminium are two different names for this metal.
- When aluminum is combined with Fe2O3 in the right quantity thermite can be made.
[edit] Where is it found?
Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third most abundant element overall, after oxygen and silicon. But it is not found free in nature. The Bayer process is used to refine aluminum from bauxite, an aluminum ore.
[edit] What are its uses?
Aluminum has many uses. It is light and strong. Aluminum helps us get from place to place since it's a part of cars, trucks, airplanes, bicycles, rockets, and more.
Every morning you wake up and look in a mirror, the reflective backing is likely made from aluminum. The pots and pans your family uses to cook dinner may be made with aluminum. The utensils you eat your dinner with could be made with aluminum, along with the kitchen foil used to wrap up leftover food. Soda cans are also made from aluminum.
[edit] Is it dangerous?
Aluminum isn't dangerous. The metal is protected by a surface layer of aluminum oxide. This surface layer forms at once when the metal is exposed to air, and is very stable. So dishes, pots, and pans can be made of aluminum, and aluminum foil can be used for packing sensitive foods.
