Aluminum

Aluminum
Aluminum is found in anything ranging from the simplest soda cans to the magnificent airplanes. Aluminum is used widely for many reasons. Firstly, it is a low density metal, meaning it is very light. In fact, aluminum is the 5th lightest metal. Secondly, aluminum is the most abundant metal on the earth’s crust. Lastly, aluminum is 100% recyclable. This is due to aluminum’s extreme stability. Aluminum does not exist pure in nature. This is due to the fact that aluminum is a highly reactive metal, and would rapidly bond with oxygen if left exposed in air. Aluminum can be found bonded with many different elements, forming a variety of minerals. One of those ways aluminum exists is in its crystallized form, as sapphires.

Transportation Use:
The bodies of cars are made with aluminum alloys. This is due to its high weight to strength ratio. This makes the vehicle more fuel efficient. Aluminum is used in airplanes too. Airplanes are at constant stresses while flying and any failure would lead to a catastrophic failure. Aluminum is used as it is very light, and if a plane would be made up of steel, it would need 4 second stage space rockets to make that plane fly. Aluminum has a good ability to flex and bend, making it able to flex and absorb the stress without snapping.

Food Industry Use:
As we all know, there is aluminum foil. The reason why aluminum is used is because, first, it does not rust, secondly, it is very abundant, and lastly, it can be recycles easily. The same reasons also made aluminum a good candidate for being made into beer cans. Beer cans need to hold high pressures of the drink. The pressure would be easily held by the miracle material, aluminum. Beer cans are made up from 2 parts, the cap, and the body. The body is made up of stretching a circular disk into a mold, creating the shape of the body, and giving the can a lot of strength.

Military Use
Bulletproof glass. What happens when bulletproof glass is not bulletproof? The 50 caliber is one of the fastest and biggest round. It can easily pierce through bulletproof glass when fired through a sniper rifle. Now, there is bulletproof aluminum, and it is transparent. It can stop the 50 caliber as it is so hard, and it would fracture upon impact, and every crack would dissipate and absorb the shock. Bulletproof aluminum is called ALON, named after its elements, aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen. One third of all American casualties in the war in the middle east are caused by IEDs, improvised explosive devices. Aluminum foam can now be used to protect soldiers from that threat. Aluminum foam is made by bubbling oxygen through molten aluminum, and then cooling it rapidly. The size of the holes and the frequency of the holes can be manipulated by the rate of the air jets. When an IED explodes under a military vehicle, the aluminum foam would be crumpled and crush, but with each bubble breaking, the shock is absorbed, making the shrapnel unable to penetrate through and cause casualties.