2 April: Aluminium

On this date in 1889, Charles M. Hall patented a cheaper way to produce aluminium. 10 things you might not know about this element.

1. Its atomic number is 13 and its atomic symbol is Al.
2. Its melting point is 1,220.58 degrees Fahrenheit/660.32 degrees Celsius, and it boils at 4,566 degrees F/2,519 degrees Celsius.
3. Aluminium is the twelfth most common element in the Universe and the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust, after Oxygen and silicon, at 8.2%. It's therefore the most abundant metal on Earth.
4. Not only is there lots of it, but it has numerous other advantages. It's lightweight – a third the weight of steel and doesn't rust. It does oxidise, but the oxidation process creates a protective layer which actually makes it stronger. Both good reasons why aeroplanes are made from it.
5. It's great stuff when it comes to recycling, too. Recycling it takes just 5% of the energy required to produce it in the first place, and there's very little waste. 75% of all the aluminium ever produced is still in use. Recycling a drinks can made from it saves enough energy to power an MP3 player for long enough to listen to an album; and the turnaround is pretty quick, too. It can be made into a new can in as little as 60 days after you throw the old one in the bin.
6. Despite being abundant, pure aluminium doesn't exist in the Earth's crust – it has to be extracted and smelted. It was the late 19th century before a cost effective way to do it was invented by Paul Heroult and Charles Hall independently – the Hall-Heroult process. Hence in ancient times, it was perceived as extremely rare and therefore more precious than Gold. Napoleon the Third showed off by serving food to guests on Aluminium plates, with Aluminium cutlery. Its main use in ancient Greece and Rome was as alum, a compound used to dye fabrics.
7. The element was named by British chemist Humphrey Davy, who was one of the scientists who tried to figure out ways to extract it from ores. The name ultimately derives from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "bitter" or "beer".
8. While on the subject of the name, is it "aluminium" or "aluminum"? It depends, in part, on which side of the Pond you happen to be. Davy originally called it aluminum, but another British scientist called Thomas Young suggested aluminium instead because it sounded less classical. His suggestion caught on and most scientists used it, even in America. So why did that change? Partly because American lexicographer Noah Webster used "aluminum" in his dictionary, and also Charles Hall preferred that spelling, because it made the metal sound more valuable, like platinum. The American Chemical Society adopted this spelling in 1925.
9. Despite its abundance, aluminium plays no role in biology. It's not toxic for most people and any that gets ingested is usually harmlessly disposed of by the body. There has been a suggestion that it might cause Alzheimer's disease, but at time of writing more than 40 years of research had failed to prove any link. A small number of people have contact allergies which can cause a variety of symptoms.
10. As well as aeroplanes (A Boeing 747 contains 66,000 kg of it) it's widely used in food packaging because aluminium foil reflects both heat and light and is completely impermeable. Nothing gets in or out, including heat or cold. Which is why they also make emergency blankets out of it.

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