History:

Aluminium was discovered by Hans Christian Oersted at 1825 in Denmark. Origin of

name: from the Latin word "alumen" meaning "alum".
The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum in medicine as an astringent, and in dyeing
processes. In 1761 de Morveau proposed the name "alumine" for the base in alum. In
1807, Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and
later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was
adopted by IUPAC to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements. Aluminium is the
IUPAC spelling and therefore the international standard. Aluminium was also the
accepted spelling in the U.S.A. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society
decided to revert back to aluminum, and to this day Americans still refer to aluminium as
"aluminum".
Aluminium is one of the elements which as alum or alumen, KAl(SO4)2, has an
alchemical symbol (the symbol to the right shows Scheele's symbol, alchemy is an
ancient pursuit concerned with, for instance, the transformation of other metals into
gold).
Aluminium was first isolated by Hans Christian Oersted in 1825 who reacted aluminium
chloride (AlCl3) with potassium amalgam (an alloy of potassium and mercury). Heating
the resulting aluminium amalgam under reduced pressure caused the mercury to boil
away leaving an impure sample of aluminium metal.
USES:
The uses of aluminum are varied and diverse. Today it is used in commerce, transportation and other industries.
Some of its applications are well known, while others are not so obvious. Apart from consumer products, the
metallic element is also used in glass creation.
Use in Households
This metallic element is used for door knobs, window frames and kitchen utensils. The element
is applied in kettles, saucepans, toasters and refrigerators. It is also used in indoor and outdoor
furniture. Some sports equipment like golf clubs and tennis balls also use it.
In Construction
Aluminum is necessary in construction. The metal is used in practically all elements: skylights,
building bridges, shutters, ladders and railings. The element is present in rods, doors,
stampings, wiring, bars, tubing, sheets, pipes, casting and scraps. Aluminum is applied in a
wide array of industrial applications. Staircases are sometimes made of aluminum too. The
metallic element is found in many buildings. They are low maintenance. The light weight is also
used for gutters.
A layer of insulated aluminum cladding is as efficient as stones or bricks. Aluminum can be
painted and joined with other materials. This can be used to change the looks of edifices.
Carpenters and builders prefer aluminum because it is versatile. It can be cut, bonded, welded,
tapered and curved in various shapes.
Package
One of the most popular uses of aluminum is packaging. Trays, foils, bottle caps and cans are
usually made of this metallic element. It is also used for thermos, utensil lids and storage
boxes. It is also applied as a foil container, bottle tops and foil wrappings. Aluminum is
preferred because it keeps food clean. The metals properties keep food safe from harmful
elements in the environment.
Because of this, aluminum is widely used in the industry. This metallic element is corrosion-
resistant. Compared to iron, aluminum oxide is not destructive. It is protective. The metal is
impermeable. It doesnt affect the taste or smell of food packaging. Most importantly, the metal
has no toxic elements.
Cars and Transportation
Aircraft carriers have aluminum components. It is also used in boats and other sea faring
vessels because it is light. Railway carriages also use it. Aluminum can be found on cars for
aesthetic and thermal purposes. Its cheaper than other metals so manufacturers prefer it.
Car parts like wheel spacer bars, transmission housings, hoods, suspension components and
engine blocks are usually built of aluminum. The metal is also used in impellers, alternator
housings, air filler adapters, mirrors and brackets. Car ornaments also rely on aluminum.
The element is vital to transportation because of its weight / strength ratio. Aluminum is light;
in vehicles this translates to less energy required for motion. It isnt as strong as steel. But it
can be alloyed with other metals to increase its strength. The light weight means fuel efficiency.
Thats why aluminum parts are common in trains, boats and cars. It is particularly essential in
aircraft.
Aluminum helps keep their weight down. More than 75% of a planes unladen weight is
comprised of aluminum. The metal is corrosion resistant, another important feature. Aluminum
means painting is not needed. This means savings in money and weight.
Power Lines
Its light weight makes it ideal for use in power lines and electricity. It has less than the coppers
electrical conductivity. But aluminum is preferred because of its low density. A kilogram of
aluminum conducts double the charge compared with copper of the same amount.
Today it is used in long distance power lines and high voltage electrical transmission. If copper
is used, companies have to create costly support structures. Aluminum doesnt require these
expensive units. Copper is less ductile than aluminum. It cannot be drawn into wire easily.
Aluminums corrosion is another plus. The metallic element is also used in satellite dishes.
Classification
Aluminum is an element with an atomic number of 13. On the periodic table of elements its
symbol is Al. It belongs to a group of metals including lead and tin. Aluminum has been used
for a long time. During Ancient Egypt, aluminum oxides were used in their glazes and pottery.
The Romans also used this metallic element. During the 1800s, advances in research made it
possible to produce pure aluminum.
During its early years, it was thought the element was hard to extract and rare. This made the
metal highly sought. In 1886, Paul Herout and C.M. Hall uncovered a method for ore smelting.
Today it is used for isolating the metallic element. Subsequent excavations revealed that it is
very common. In its pure state, the metal is very light.
The many uses of aluminum can be traced to its properties. Its weight is a third of that
compared to copper or steel. It is also durable and recyclable. The latter translates into savings
for companies that use them.
References and Notes for Aluminum ( Al )


Ref. ID Reference

BE99 J. M. Brown and K. M. Evenson, Phys. Rev. A 60, 956
(1999). Brown and Evenson have measured the splitting
of the ground state to be 112.06495(6) cm
-1
. For
consistency with the excited-configuration levels we
have here retained the less accurate interval from
[MZ79].



FW96 J. R. Fuhr and W. L. Wiese, NIST Atomic Transition
Probability Tables, CRC Handbook of Chemistry &
Physics, 77th Edition, D. R. Lide, Ed., CRC Press,
Inc., Boca Raton, FL (1996).



GK00 U. Griesmann and R. Kling, Astrophys. J. 536, L113
(2000). The values obtained for the Al II 3s3p
1
P
level by these authors is 59851.976(4) cm
-1
. We have
retained the less accurate value from [MZ79] for
consistency with the other Al II levels in the table.



KM91b V. Kaufman and W. C. Martin, J. Phys. Chem. Ref.
Data 20, 775 (1991).


M03 D. C. Morton, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 149, 205
(2003).



MZ79 W. C. Martin and R. Zalubas, J. Phys. Chem. Ref.
Data 8, 817 (1979), as modified by [KM91b].


WSM69 W. L. Wiese, M. W. Smith and B. M. Miles, Natl. Stand.
Ref. Data Ser., Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.) 22 (1969).