It can be drawn out into wires that are finer than the finest hairs, and hammered into sheets as thin as a sheet of newspaper.
It may surprise you to learn that it is the most abundant of an the metals in the world. Nearly 8 per cent of the earth's crust is Aluminum. But aluminum is never found free in nature. It is combined with various substances to form parts of many rocks and soils. Did you know that sapphires, rubies, garnets, and other beautiful gems are compounds of aluminum?
The problem was how to separate cheaply aluminum from the other substances. On February 23rd, 1886, a twenty-two-year-old chemist named Charles Martin Hall found a way to make this metal cheaply and in large quantities. In melted cryolite, which is a compound of aluminium and sodium with fluorine, he dissolved a small amount of aluminium oxide. Then he placed the mixture in a carbon vessel and passed a direct electric current through it. After about two hours, little "buttons" of metallic aluminium were found in the bottom of the vessel. This same general method is still used for the production of the world's entire supply of aluminium metal.
Cryolite is found only in Greenland, but can be manufactured if the mineral form is not available. Bauxite, an impure aluminium oxide, is found in many countries, but must be purified before it can be used to produce metal.
Aluminium is an almost perfect material for cooking utensils because it is a good conductor of heat, and is easily kept clean and bright. It is also used in motor-car engines, aeroplanes, and train engines.
It may surprise you to learn that it is the most abundant of an the metals in the world. Nearly 8 per cent of the earth's crust is Aluminum. But aluminum is never found free in nature. It is combined with various substances to form parts of many rocks and soils. Did you know that sapphires, rubies, garnets, and other beautiful gems are compounds of aluminum?
The problem was how to separate cheaply aluminum from the other substances. On February 23rd, 1886, a twenty-two-year-old chemist named Charles Martin Hall found a way to make this metal cheaply and in large quantities. In melted cryolite, which is a compound of aluminium and sodium with fluorine, he dissolved a small amount of aluminium oxide. Then he placed the mixture in a carbon vessel and passed a direct electric current through it. After about two hours, little "buttons" of metallic aluminium were found in the bottom of the vessel. This same general method is still used for the production of the world's entire supply of aluminium metal.
Cryolite is found only in Greenland, but can be manufactured if the mineral form is not available. Bauxite, an impure aluminium oxide, is found in many countries, but must be purified before it can be used to produce metal.
Aluminium is an almost perfect material for cooking utensils because it is a good conductor of heat, and is easily kept clean and bright. It is also used in motor-car engines, aeroplanes, and train engines.
