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Aluminum - Uses

oxide coating thin plastic

In spite of the fact that aluminum is very active chemically, it does not corrode in moist air the way iron does. Instead, it quickly forms a thin, hard coating of aluminum oxide. Unlike iron oxide or rust, which flakes off, the aluminum oxide sticks tightly to the metal and protects it from further oxidation. The oxide coating is so thin that it is transparent, so the aluminum retains its silvery metallic appearance. Sea water, however, will corrode aluminum unless it has been given an unusually thick coating of oxide by the anodizing process.

When aluminum is heated to high temperatures in a vacuum, it evaporates and condenses onto any nearby cool surface such as glass or plastic. When evaporated onto glass, it makes a very good mirror, and aluminum has largely replaced silver for that purpose because it does not tarnish and turn black, as silver does when exposed to impure air. Many food-packaging materials and shiny plastic novelties are made of paper or plastic with an evaporated coating of bright aluminum. The "silver" helium balloons that we see at birthday parties are made of a tough plastic called Mylar, covered with a thin, evaporated coating of aluminum metal.

Aluminum conducts electricity about 60% as well as copper, which is still very good among metals. Because it is also light in weight and highly ductile (can be drawn out into thin wires), it is used instead of copper in almost all of the high-voltage electric transmission lines in the United States.

Aluminum is used to make kitchen pots and pans because of its high heat conductivity. It is handy as an air- and water-tight food wrapping because it is very malleable; it can be pressed between steel rollers to make foil (a thin sheet) less than a thousandth of an inch thick. Claims are occasionally made that aluminum is toxic and that aluminum cookware is therefore dangerous, but no clear evidence for this belief has ever been found. Many widely used antacids in the drug store contain thousands of times more aluminum (in the form of aluminum hydroxide) than a person could ever get from eating food cooked in an aluminum pot. Aluminum is the only light element that has no known physiological function in the human body.

Aluminum - Chemistry And Compounds [next] [back] Aluminum - How Aluminum Is Obtained

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about 3 years ago

This helped allot on my science project. Thanks



-Joel H Dunlap, IA

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about 1 year ago

Miguel Gutierrez

this was actually helpful, but i wish you'd show a few more uses for aluminium

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12 months ago

What is aluminum?

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about 1 year ago

Eadaoin

Heeeyy i luv this website!!!!! ITS SO GOD!!!! I pray dat i m crack

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about 1 year ago

How do you clean aluminium for instance in cooker hoods that get fat splashed?

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about 1 year ago

destiny harmine

what the monkeys

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over 1 year ago

GHHGHGDHGH

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over 2 years ago

aluminium powder is use in chrome paint manufacturing but how can we get the bright mirror effect from aluminium powder

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5 months ago

Gary Kern

can aluminum act as a thermal barrier?

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9 months ago

nicole k.

it sucked and got me a bad grade

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11 months ago

Xal.

It helped out slightly... :)
Cheers

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about 1 year ago

Miguel Gutierrez

this was actually helpful, but i wish you'd show a few more uses for aluminium

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about 3 years ago

Thank you very much!
It helps with my aluminum project alot.
:]

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about 3 years ago

Yo im doing a project and this really help of my interesting fact section So Thanks i guess!! XDXD XD :)

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about 3 years ago

im doing the element Aluminum in my physical science class and this helped alott..thanks!

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about 3 years ago

Thanks that really DIDNT HELP AT ALL!!! TRY TALKING ABOUT CHEMICAL FORMULA'S, MINERAL GROUPS, THE HARDNESS, COLOR, STREAK, LUSTER, CLEAVAGE, AND FRACTURE, ALONG WITH THE USES(YOUR WERE LOUSY AND I FAILED MY PROJECT THANKS TO YOU!!!)

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over 3 years ago

thanks so much for this info it helped me understand more uses of aluminum. I hope i get an A

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over 3 years ago

thanks sooooo much!!! i got an F on my science project!!!! lol jk i got an A and thanks again!!!

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over 3 years ago

thanks for help on my project

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over 3 years ago

this website really helped me with my science project!!

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over 3 years ago

Thanks.

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over 3 years ago

I think that all elements are great it just depends on he uses!!!!!

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over 3 years ago

this site sure helped me with my homework!

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over 3 years ago

wow if it wasnt for this website my chemistry project would have been a failure but it wasnt thankzz



~~cici~~

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over 3 years ago

this really helped me for my elements project

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over 3 years ago

thank you sooo much :)

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over 3 years ago

omg thank you so much!!!! i'm writing a research paper on aluminum and this has helped me so much.


thanks again :)

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over 3 years ago

this helped me a lot in doing my chemistry project.. thanks

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over 3 years ago

found this really useful for my chem project........... thanks

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over 3 years ago

thanks alot. it ddnt give meh all the things i wantd bt the information added to more ideas thanks you..



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over 3 years ago

this website didnt give me the exact infomation i needed but it gave me extra infomation that made the teacher give me extra marks.... THANKS

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over 3 years ago

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over 3 years ago

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over 3 years ago

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almost 4 years ago

Thank you! Great Website, i found great information for my assignment. THANK YOU! =)

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over 4 years ago

how is aluminum useful to the physicist?

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over 4 years ago

how is aluminum used in airplanes?

nice website.

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over 4 years ago

aluminum is used for many things such as outsider building decorations,and in thousands of industries applications where a strong, light and easily constructed material is needed