What is Aluminium?
#Aluminium or #Aluminum is a #ChemicalElement with the symbol Al and #AtomicNumber 13. Aluminium has a #Density lower than those of other common #Metals, at approximately one third that of #Steel.
It has a great affinity towards #Oxygen, and forms a protective layer of #Oxide on the surface when exposed to air.
Aluminium visually resembles silver, both in its color and in its great ability to reflect light. It is soft, non-magnetic and #Ductile. It has one stable #Isotope, 27Al; this isotope is very common, making aluminium the twelfth most common element in the Universe. The radioactivity of 26Al is used in radiodating.
Chemically, aluminium is a #PostTransition #Metal in the #BoronGroup; as is common for the group, aluminium forms compounds primarily in the +3 oxidation state.
The aluminium cation Al3+ is small and highly charged; as such, it is polarizing, and bonds aluminium forms tend towards covalency. The strong affinity towards oxygen leads to aluminium's common association with oxygen in nature in the form of oxides; for this reason, aluminium is found on Earth primarily in rocks in the crust, where it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon, rather than in the mantle, and virtually never as the free metal.
The discovery of aluminium was announced in 1825 by Danish #Physicist #HansChristianØrsted.
The first #Industrial production of aluminium was initiated by French chemist Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville in 1856. Aluminium became much more available to the public with the Hall–Héroult process developed independently by French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall in 1886, and the mass production of aluminium led to its extensive use in industry and everyday life.
In World Wars I and II, aluminium was a crucial strategic resource for #Aviation. In 1954, aluminium became the most produced #NonFerrous metal, surpassing copper.
In the 21st century, most aluminium was consumed in #Transportation, #Engineering, #Construction, and #Packaging in the #UnitedStates, Western #Europe, and #Japan.
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