About Aluminum
Aluminum is part of a group known as the boron elements, or the "poor metals." It takes up the 13th space on the periodic table of elements, which means it has an atomic mass of 13. It happens to be one of the most important metals because of how much of it is found in nature and because of its popularity in different fields of manufacturing.
Other People Are Reading
-
Features
-
Aluminum has a number of unique features that make it such a common metal in many fields. At the atomic level, aluminum has three valence shells for electrons. These are the orbits that negatively charged electrons take around the nucleus. The outer orbit has a low number of electrons, which allows aluminum to bond to other elements by sharing its available space. Aluminum resists corrosion, is highly durable and is a good conductor of heat and electricity.
Types
-
Each element consists of different isotopes. Aluminum has nine isotopes. Two of these occur naturally, while the rest have been created in laboratories through forced reactions with other elements. Al-26 is one of the naturally occurring aluminum isotopes. Due to its unique makeup, scientists use it in the study of meteorites, because it has been found to be a part of many of them. Other aluminum isotopes are used to date other materials, such as marine sediments and glaciers.
-
Geography
-
Aluminum is the most common metal found in the Earth's crust, so it is seen across the globe. However, it is not found in its pure form. Instead, most aluminum found in nature is part of ore bauxite, which is most commonly found in tropical climates. This ore is mined mostly in Jamaica, Russia, Ghana, Indonesia and Suriname. It is also found in Australia and Brazil in abundance. Other parts of the world have some bauxite, but not enough to warrant mining.
History
-
In one form or another, aluminum has been used since the times of the ancient Greeks. Then, aluminum salts were used to help dress wounds as an astringent, and they were also used as a dyeing agent. It wasn't until 1825 that pure aluminum was able to be created in a laboratory, following studies of the metal in various compounded forms. Starting in the late 1800s, aluminum was used in structural applications and, in the mid-1900s, it was used by navies to build ships. Eventually, ships switched to steel structures, but aluminum is still used today in a wide variety of applications.
Significance
-
Aluminum is such an important metal because of the various alloys that can be created from it and applied to various production projects. It is a light metal that can be easily formed into various shapes while still remaining solid and strong. It is especially important in boating and aerospace engineering because of its ability to resist corrosion. Aluminum is also used to make a number of household items and also used in wiring, because of its ability to conduct electricity so well.
-
