Micro-explosion reveals new super-dense aluminium

(PhysOrg.com) -- Although materials scientists have theorized for years that a form of super-dense aluminum exists under the extreme pressures found inside a planet’s core, no one had ever actually seen it. Until now.

Transparent aluminium is 'new state of matter'

(PhysOrg.com) -- Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the world’s most powerful soft X-ray laser. 'Transparent aluminium' previously only existed in science fiction, ...

A counterintuitive way to make stronger alloys

Humans have been mixing metals to create more useful materials for thousands of years. The Bronze Age, which started around 3300 BC, was characterized by the use of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin which is stronger than ...

Examining how hydrogen behaves in aluminum alloys

Due to its low density, high strength, and abundance, aluminum and its alloys are widely used for example in constructions, consumer electronics and for vehicles including cars, ships, trains and planes. However, aluminum ...

New nanostructure could be the key to quantum electronics

A novel electronic component from TU Wien (Vienna) could be an important key to the era of quantum information technology: Using a special manufacturing process, pure germanium is bonded with aluminum in a way that atomically ...

Aluminum alloy research could benefit manned space missions

The MIAMI-2—Microscopes and Ion Accelerators for Materials Investigations—facility has helped Dr. Matheus Tunes investigate a new alloy that will harden aluminum without increasing its weight significantly.

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Aluminium

US i/əˈluːmɨnəm/ ə-loo-mi-nəm

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

Aluminium is remarkable for the metal's low density and for its ability to resist corrosion due to the phenomenon of passivation. Structural components made from aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and are important in other areas of transportation and structural materials. The most useful compounds of aluminium, at least on a weight basis, are the oxides and sulfates.

Despite its prevalence in the environment, aluminium salts are not known to be used by any form of life. In keeping with its pervasiveness, it is well tolerated by plants and animals. Because of their prevalence, potential biological roles, beneficial and otherwise, aluminium compounds are of continuing interest.

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