|
What the name
means: The name comes from the Latin
word alum. In 1761 Guyton de Morveau
gave the name “alumine” to the part of alum
associated with a metal. Humphry Davy, in
1807, called the metal base “alumium”. Davy
later agreed to a change in the name to
aluminium (although North Americans refer
to the metal as aluminum).
Who identified
aluminium? Although the presence of
a metal base has been known by both Morveau
and Davy, the metal was first isolated by
Hans Christian Øersted in 1825. Øersted
extracted the metal from aluminium
chloride.
About aluminium:
Aluminium is silvery and very light
for a metal. It is soft and not very strong
but it can be mixed with other metals to
form alloys that are stronger. Aluminium is
a very useful metal. Because it is a light
metal it is used for making airplanes. It
conducts electricity, so alloys of
aluminium are useful in electric wiring. It
conducts heat very well so it is used to
make cooking pans. Aluminium metal is
reactive so it is not found naturally as
the element. It is extracted from bauxite
(aluminium oxide) for industrial use. |
The Open Door Web Site 
