Saturday, April 1, 2023

A for Aluminium

This is the first in the series of 26 posts this month, one post a day, barring four Sundays, each on a theme corresponding to a letter of the English alphabet. The theme this year is "Chemicals in our life", spurred by my interest in chemistry. Here we go.

Aluminium (or Aluminum in the US) is the third most abundant element on earth’s crust, after oxygen and silicon. It makes up about 8% of the earth's crust.

The symbol is Al, its atomic number is 13 (corresponding to the number of protons), and the atomic mass is 27 amu (Atomic mass units) 

It is silvery-white, lightweight, malleable (meaning it can be hammered or pressed into shape without breaking or cracking) and ductile (meaning it can be drawn out into a thin wire).

It has a melting point of approximately 660°C and a boiling point of around 2,460°C, which makes it a good conductor of heat and electricity.

It is found in minerals such as bauxite and cryolite, and it is extracted via a process that involves treating bauxite with sodium hydroxide and heating it.

It has a lot of applications mainly because it's very light and it's a good conductor of electricity. In Japan, the 1 yen coin is made of aluminium.  

Here are some uses of aluminium in our daily life:

1) Packaging: It's used for cans, foils, trays, and other products. It is recyclable and helps to keep food fresh.

2) Construction: It's a good material for windows, doors, siding, roofing, and other building materials. It is durable, corrosion-resistant, and can be easily shaped and manipulated.


3) Transportation: Aluminium is used in the manufacturing of cars, planes, boats, and bicycles. It is strong, and energy-efficient, making it an ideal material for vehicles.

4) Electrical wiring: Wiring made of aluminium is used in homes and buildings for electrical power transmission since it's a good conductor of electricity and is resistant to corrosion.

5) Outdoor furniture: The fact that the metal is weather-resistant, it finds wide application in outdoor furniture, like chairs, tables, etc.


6) Consumer electronics: The lightweight nature makes it a good candidate for use in devices like smartphones, laptops, cameras, and other electronic appliances, too.

7) Cookware: Since the metal conducts heat well, it's widely used in cookware.

Overall, aluminium is an essential metal that is used in various industries and applications, making our daily life more efficient and comfortable.

Images from Pixabay

The information provided in this post has been obtained from multiple, authentic resources. However, it is presented in an abridged format and might not have all the details. Therefore, before acting on any information, readers are requested to exercise caution and do further research.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

22 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Ooh hoorah, good to see the alphabet inspiring you! (says she who is this year giving it a miss - but I'll be supporting!) YAM xx

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    1. Hi Yamini - That's okay. We'll still get to read your posts, as usual :-)

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  2. It is currently 5 PM on Friday here in the US, so I'm waving to you from March. I think I read somewhere that it took a while before they could use aluminum for everything (they hadn't figured out how to mine it or something), and it was more expensive than gold (like 200 years ago). I don't know if that's true or not.

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    1. O, yes, the time difference :-)
      You are right about how expensive Al was once.
      Aluminum Was Once One of the Most Expensive Metals in the World - The Atlantic

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  3. I look forward to your informative posts. This is a great start. ~grin~ Best wishes!

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  4. Good you wrote about aluminum. I have been looking to buy aluminum skillet as they use in restaurants. Unable to find one.

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    1. O, is it? ... It must be available somewhere....

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  5. A very interesting theme and thank you for introducing me to Aluminium. It reminds me of the time we learnt about blast furnace and valencies in school.

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    1. Hi Suchita, Thank you for reminding me about valencies :-)

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  6. Hi Pradeep - well this will be interesting ... I'll enjoy the learning ... Aluminium is certainly light and relatively ubiquitous - cheers and enjoy the A- Z. ... Hilary

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  7. Interesting. I wrote number of articles on chemistry for IIT JEE.

    Good to see your first post. My first post. Articles and Blogs on Industrial Engineering
    https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2023/04/articles-and-blogs-on-industrial.html

    #AtoZChallenge 2023 Theme: A to Z of Industrial Engineering
    https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-to-z-of-industrial-engineering.html

    Learning CHEMISTRY for IIT JEE
    http://iit-jee-chemistry.blogspot.com/

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  8. Jamie (jannghi.blogspot.com): Great topic. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  9. A lot of opinions are coming up about Aluminium. Your post cleared the doubts

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    1. Hi Rakhi, Thank you for dropping by and for your comments. Aluminium is one of those very common elements, that we take so much for granted, is it not?

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  10. Aluminium bakeware is the best! Gives uniform and quick hearing. Aluminium kadhai are also good. However its said that food that contains anything sour should not be cooked in these. Unique theme with excellent info. Happy AtoZ!

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  11. So much aluminum in our lives! Useful in so many ways except in the microwave oven! :)

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