Aluminum
✈️ In Your World
Aluminum is one of the most useful and abundant metals on Earth. Its remarkable combination of being lightweight, strong, and corrosion-resistant makes it a perfect material for countless applications. You'll find it in everyday items like soda cans and kitchen foil, as well as in high-tech applications like building airplanes and spacecraft. Window frames, car parts, and electrical power lines also frequently use aluminum.
📖 The Discovery Story
While aluminum compounds like alum were used by ancient civilizations, isolating the pure metal was incredibly difficult due to its high reactivity. It was first isolated in 1825 by Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted. For many years, it was considered a precious metal, more valuable than gold, until the Hall-Héroult process was invented in 1886, which allowed for inexpensive mass production.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 660.32 °C / 1220.58 °F |
| Boiling Point | 2470 °C / 4478 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Ne] 3s²3p¹ |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | 8.23% (most abundant metal) |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Aluminum metal is non-toxic and safe to handle. In fact, it's widely used in cookware and food packaging. However, like many metals, inhaling fine aluminum dust can be harmful to the lungs over long periods. Certain aluminum compounds can have different toxicity profiles.