From the CRC handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press, Cleveland, 55th ed., 1974-75 "The Elements" by C.R. Hammond. page B-5
Aluminum (L. alumen, alum), Al; at. wt. 26.98154; at. no. 13; m.p. 660.37 C; b.p. 2467 C; sp. gr. 2.6989 (20 C); valence 3. The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum in medicine as an astringent, and as a mordant in dyeing. In 1761 de Morveau proposed the name alumine for the base of alum, and Lavoisier, in 1787, thought this to be the oxide of a still undiscovered metal. Wohler is generally credited with having isolated the metal in 1827, although an impure form was prepared by Oersted two years earlier. In 1807 Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements, and this spelling is now used elsewhere in the world. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S. until 1925 at which time the American Chemical Society officially decided to use the name aluminum thereafter in their publications. The method of obtaining aluminum metal by the electrolysis of alumina dissolved in cryolite was discovered in 1886 by Hall in the U.S. and about the same time by Heroult in France. Cryolite, a natural ore found in Greenland, is no longer widely used in commercial production, but has been replaced by an artificial mixture of sodium, aluminum, and calcium fluorides. Bauxite, an impure hydrated oxide ore, is found in large deposits in Arkansas, Jamaica, and elsewhere. The Bayer process is most commonly used today to refine bauxite so it can be accommodated in the Hall-Heroult refining process, used to produce most aluminum. Aluminum can now be produced from clay, but the process is not economically feasible at present. Aluminum is the most abundant metal to be found in the eath's crust (8.1%), but is never found free in nature. In addition to the minerals mentioned above, it is found in feldspars, granite, and in many other common minerals. Pure aluminum, a silvery-while metal, possesses many desirable characteristics. It is light, nontoxic, has a pleasing appearance, can be easily be formed, machined, or cast, has a high thermal conductivity, and has excellent corrosion resistance. It is nonmagnetic and nonsparking, stands second amoung metals in the scale of malleability, and sixth in ductility. It is extensively used for kitchen utensils, outside building decoration, and in thousands of industrial applications where a strong, light, easily constructed material is needed. Although its electrical conductiveity is only about 60% that of copper per area of cross section, it is used in electrical tranmission lines because of its light weight. Pure aluminum is soft and lacks strength, but it can be alloyed with small amounts of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese, and other elements to impart a variety of useful properties. These alloys are of vital importance in the construction of modern aircraft and rockets. Aluminum, 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. They have found application in coatings for telescope mirrors, in making decorative paper, packages, toys, and in manty other uses. The compunds of greatest importance are aluminum oxide, the sulfate, and the soluble sulfate with potassium (alum). The oxide, alumina, occurs naturally as ruby, sapphire, corundum, and emery, and is used in glassmaking. Synthetic ruby and sapphire have found application in the constructuio of lasers for producing coherent light.
