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Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances. Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third most abundant element overall, after oxygen and silicon. It makes up about 8% by weight of the Earth’s solid surface. Aluminium is too reactive chemically to occur in nature as the free metal. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals. The chief source of aluminium is bauxite ore.

Aluminium is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion (due to the phenomenon of passivation) and its light weight. Structural components made from aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and very important in other areas of transportation and building. Its reactive nature makes it useful as a catalyst or additive in chemical mixtures, including being used in ammonium nitrate explosives to enhance blast power.

aluminium

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal. Global production of aluminium in 2005 was 31.9 million tonnes. It exceeded that of any other metal except iron (837.5 million tonnes).] Relatively pure aluminium is encountered only when corrosion resistance and/or workability is more important than strength or hardness. A thin layer of aluminium can be deposited onto a flat surface by physical vapor deposition or (very infrequently) chemical vapor deposition or other chemical means to form optical coatings and mirrors. When so deposited, a fresh, pure aluminium film serves as a good reflector (approximately 92%) of visible light and an excellent reflector (as much as 98%) of medium and far infrared.

Pure aluminium has a low tensile strength, but when combined with thermo-mechanical processing, aluminium alloys display a marked improvement in mechanical properties, especially when tempered. Aluminium alloys form vital components of aircraft and rockets as a result of their high strength-to-weight ratio. Aluminium readily forms alloys with many elements such as copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese and silicon (e.g., duralumin). Today, almost all bulk metal materials that are referred to loosely as "aluminium," are actually alloys. For example, the common aluminium foils are alloys of 92% to 99% aluminium.
Some of the many uses for aluminium metal are in:

  • Transportation (automobiles, aircraft, trucks, railway cars, marine vessels, bicycles etc.)
  • Packaging (cans, foil, etc.) 
  • Water treatment 
  • Treatment against fish parasites such as Gyrodactylus salaris. 
  • Construction (windows, doors, siding, building wire, etc.) 
  • Cooking utensils 
  • Electrical transmission lines for power distribution 
  • MKM steel and Alnico magnets 
  • Super purity aluminium (SPA, 99.980% to 99.999% Al), used in electronics and CDs. 
  • Heat sinks for electronic appliances such as transistors and CPUs. 
  • Powdered aluminium is used in paint, and in pyrotechnics such as solid rocket fuels and thermite. 
  • In the blades of prop swords and knives used in stage combat. 
  • Aluminium is widely used in watch production as it provides durability and resists tarnishing and corrosion.