Unearthing facts from the not-so-humble beginnings of aluminum and copper.* Although aluminum 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. (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 Noun 1. Charles Martin Hall - United States chemist who developed an economical method of producing aluminum from bauxite (1863-1914) Hall used the -um spelling in an advertising handbill HANDBILL. A printed or written notice put up on walls, &c., in order to inform those concerned of something to be done. for his new, efficient, electrolytic e·lec·tro·lyt·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to electrolysis. 2. Produced by electrolysis. 3. Of or relating to electrolytes. e·lec 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 North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , even though the Webster Unabridged Dictionary of 1913 continued to use the -ium version. In 1926, the American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has over 160,000 members at all degree-levels and in 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 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, shown on this page. |
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