Aluminum

3 Pages 630 Words

1. Name & symbol:
(*1) Aluminum / Al
2. Atomic number & weight:
(*1) 13 / 26.98
3. Common isotope:
(*2) Aluminum isotopes’ mass numbers range from Al-23 to Al-30.
Only Al-27 (stable isotope) and Al-26 (radioactive isotope) occur naturally.
4. Group number: 13
5. Common uses:
(*3) Aluminum has many uses ranging from kitchen utensils to the siding
used for decorating the outside of a house to various other industrial applications.
(*4) -cans and foils
-kitchen utensils
-outside building decoration
-industrial applications where a strong, light, easily constructed material is needed
-although its electrical conductivity is only about 60% that of copper per area of cross
section, it is used in electrical transmission lines because of its lightness and price
-alloys are of vital importance in the construction of modern aircraft and rockets
-aluminium, evaporated in a vacuum, forms a highly reflective coating for both visible
light and radiant heat. These coatings soon form a thin layer of the protective oxide
and do not deteriorate as do silver coatings. These coatings are used for telescope mirrors,
decorative paper, packages, toys, and in many other uses
6. Posible hazards:
(*5) Aluminium poisoning, with loss of memory, tremors and jerking, was first reported in 1921.
(*6) one of the most toxic by-products of aluminum manufacture, sodium fluoride, is added to
many public water supplies.
(*6) Complex ionic aluminosilicates go directly to the brain through the olfactory system.
(*6) Inhaing aluminum compounds has been related to impaired memory and logical thought.
(*6) From 1940-1980, gold miners in Canada inhaled aluminum metal dust (thinking it would
protect them from the silica dust inherent in gold ore). All tested miners scored in the
"impaired" range.
(*6) Dust from talcum powder, baby powder, cat-box litter, cement, asphalt mixes, tobacco
smoke and ...