THE’aluminum is the chemical element with atomic number 13 in the periodic table, marked by the symbol “To the” and is mainly obtained from the bauxite. Its exceptional physical properties, including malleability, light weight and corrosion resistance, make it one of the most sought-after metals in global industries, ranging from packaging to aerospace. Despite its widespread use, industrial-scale production of this metal began only in just over 140 years ago. But what are the main peculiarities of aluminum that have contributed to its diffusion and that make it one of the most versatile metals in today’s society?
What material is aluminum: the characteristics
Aluminum is best known for its low density And lightnesswhich make it a highly sought-after and widely used material in the sector of packaging and transport, including the‘aerospace. Aluminum is in fact more than three times lighter than other materials such as steel and copper.
The versatility of aluminium is also due to its high malleability And ductilitywhich allow for easy processing and make it suitable for a variety of manufacturing processes at different temperatures. These properties allow aluminum to be reduced to laminae And filaments thinand they are the same ones that allow, for example, you to easily crush a can after drinking its contents.
Aluminum also has a high electrical conductivity – second only to that of copper – and thermalmaking it one of the most widely used materials in the construction industry, as well as in the transportation industry, where it is valuable for the construction of wires, cables and devices that require rapid heat dissipation. Despite its reactivity, aluminum is paradoxically corrosion resistant. This is due to the rapid formation of a protective layer of aluminum oxide when exposed to oxygen. Additionally, its poor magnetic properties make aluminum ideal for electronic and electrical applications where magnetic interference must be minimized.
Main uses of aluminum
Due to its technical properties and versatility, aluminum is a material of choice in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. In the transportation sector, the choice of aluminum is justified by its lightness and resistance to corrosion. It is used in components of body shopsof the engines and of the wheels. In the aerospace sector, approximately80% of the structure and the interiors of the modern airplanes contains aluminum. Thanks to its durability and resistance to corrosion, aluminum is now one of the main components in the construction industry for the production of doors, windowsfacades and swimming pools.
Aluminum is widely used in the industry packagingwhere it is appreciated for being a excellent barrier against light, oxygen and humiditypreserving the quality and freshness of food and beverages in cans and other containers. Its excellent electrical conductivity and lighter weight than copper make it ideal for use in electrical wires and cables, especially in power transmission lines.
In everyday products, we find aluminum in kitchen utensilssuch as pots and pans, which benefit from its good heat conduction for more uniform cooking of food. This metal is also used in the production of kitchen equipment gardening and equipment sportslike bicycles And racketsand as an active ingredient in cosmetic and antiperspirant products.
History of Aluminum
Aluminum was discovered in its natural form only in 19th century and is therefore considered a young metal. Nevertheless, the use of natural compounds and salts containing aluminum has rather ancient roots. In his compendium Natural history, dated 77 AD., the naturalist Pliny the Elder describes tools, made of a material apparently similar to silver but much lighter, called aluminumor alumgiven as a gift to the Roman emperor Tiberius. These were impure compounds, salts, containing aluminum and other elements, such as potassium. In past centuries, alums were widely used in Europe and Asia in the leatherfrom the paper and also in some medical practices dermatological and cosmetic.
In the 1808the English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy he hypothesized that the alums were composed of an element that was still unknown at the time, which he named “Aluminium“, English term for aluminum. The first pure aluminum compounds were then produced between the 1825 and the 1845 thanks to the work of the Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted and the German chemist Freidirich Wohler.
Industrial production of aluminium, however, only became possible with the introduction of the process of Hall-Héroult electrolytic fusiondiscovered simultaneously in 1886 from Charles Martin Hall in the United States and from Paul Heroult in France. Two years later, in 1888the Austrian Karl Bayer patented the method of extraction of aluminum oxide from bauxitea reddish sedimentary rock, which represents the main source of aluminium oxides.
Today, aluminium is the second most used metal in the world after iron, mainly due to its physical characteristics which make it an extremely versatile material. versatile.
