Metals like silver and gold have stirred the imagination of mankind for thousands of years. People have dreamed about gold, spent their entire lifetimes in search of it and even killed for the chance to own this precision metal. However, the thought of aluminum plate may not excite the imagination nor make people passionate, but aluminum plays a vital role in today’s economy and technology. In fact, it has a most unique history and story to tell. This versatile metal has a number of unique, beneficial properties that make it useful for many different situations
Unlike gold (which is considered to be very rare) aluminum is not rare at all. In fact it is one of the most abundant metals on the planet. There is twice the aluminum in the earth as there are iron deposits. However, releasing this metal from the earth was very difficult and near impossible for most of our history. Because of this problem, materials like aluminum plate were very rare and sought after, especially since aluminum had several desirable properties which made it better than iron.
Perhaps the earliest use for aluminum was a salt called alum. An alum mixture was used by the ancients to protect their wood fortifications from fire as it was excellent fire resistant material. In addition, alum was used in many different industries including making paper and tanning hides.
For thousands of years, aluminum lie locked within the earth. Its rarity was appreciated and the tomb of ancient Chinese military figure (Zhou Zhu) was adorned with ornaments made from an aluminum alloy. The emperor Napoleon the third was so fond of aluminum, his most cherished guests at state dinners were served on plates made from aluminum. Others had to eat from either silver or gold.
In 1808, a British chemist called Humphry Davy, discovered one could release aluminum from aluminum oxide by a process called electrolytic reduction, but there was no way to prove his theory at the time.
In 1825, Hans Oersted from Denmark was able to successful produce aluminum. However, the metal was not 100 percent aluminum. Then in 1827 a chemist in Germany (Friedrich Woehler) discovered aluminum’s secret. He set out to make aluminum metal from powdered aluminum and worked for many years on the process. Eventually he created tiny balls of aluminum in 1845, 18 years later.
By 1856, a chemist in France (Henri-Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville) created the first industrial aluminum by continuing the work started by Woehler. At this time, it was an expensive process to create aluminum and it saw use as luxury and ornamental items.
From these humble beginnings come the many things aluminum plate, sheet, and other shapes do for mankind today. They make it possible for the aerospace and airline industry to operate, and aluminum is the backbone of many other industries.
