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Unearthing facts from the not-so-humble beginnings of aluminum and copper.


* Although aluminum
aluminum acetate  a salt prepared by the reaction of aluminum hydroxide and acetic acid; used in solution as an astringent.
basic aluminum carbonate  see under gel.
aluminum chloride  a topical astringent and anhidrotic.
 is the most abundant metallic element in Earth's crust, it is very rare in its free form and was once considered a precious metal more valuable than gold. Napolean III of France is said to have had a set of aluminum plates reserved for his finest guests, while other guests had to make do with gold ones.

* When aluminum was chosen as the material for the apex of the Washington Monument Washington Monument, obelisk-shaped tower, 555 ft 5 1-9 in. (169.3 m) high, located on a 106-acre (43-hectare) site at the west end of the Mall, Washington, D.C.; dedicated 1885. In 1783, Congress passed a resolution approving an equestrian statue of George Washington, and in 1791 architect Pierre L'Enfant included a site for the statue near the present location of the monument in his plans for the federal city. Washington, however, objected to the idea. (dedicated in 1885), an ounce of the metal cost twice the daily wages of an average worker on the project.

* When aluminum first entered commercial production, much discussion was held on its proper name. Aluminum was one suggestion, but many in the scientific world preferred aluminium. The U.S. adopted the -ium spelling for most of the 19th century; however, in 1892 Charles Martin Hall used the -um spelling in an advertising handbill for his new, efficient, electrolytic
1. Of or relating to electrolysis.
2. Produced by electrolysis.
3. Of or relating to electrolytes.

e·lectro·lyti·cal·ly adv.
 method for the production of aluminum. Hall's domination of production of the metal ensured that the spelling aluminum became the standard in North America, even though the Webster Unabridged Dictionary of 1913 continued to use the -ium version. In 1926, the American Chemical Society officially decided to use aluminum in its publications, and American dictionaries typically offer the spelling aluminium as a British variant.

* The statue known as Eros E·ros or e·ros (rs, îr-)
n.
 in Piccadilly Circus London, made in 1893, is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminum.

* Mankind has been using copper, lead and tin for thousands of years; aluminum has been produced commercially for less than 150 years. Still, more aluminum is produced today than all other nonferrous materials combined.

* Typical ancient copper ingots were shaped in the form of an animal skin, such as the one from Zakros, Crete Crete (krēt), Gr. Kríti, island (1991 pop. 539,938), c.3,235 sq mi (8,380 sq km), SE Greece, in the E Mediterranean Sea, c.60 mi (100 km) from the Greek mainland. The largest of the Greek islands, it extends c., shown on this page.
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Title Annotation:SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know...
Publication:Modern Casting
Date:May 1, 2006
Words:296
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