The use of a substance depends to a large extent on the nature of the substance. Because aluminum has many excellent properties, aluminum has an extremely wide range of uses.
Aluminum and aluminum alloys are among the most economical materials available today. Since the beginning of 1956, the world's aluminum production has been the largest in the world. At present, the output and dosage of aluminum (in tons) is second only to steel and the second largest metal for human applications. Moreover, aluminum is rich in resources. According to preliminary calculations, the storage of aluminum accounts for more than 8% of the constituents of the earth's crust.
Aluminum's light weight and corrosion resistance are two of its outstanding features.
1. The density of aluminum is very small, only 2.7 g/cm3. Although it is relatively soft, it can be made into various aluminum alloys such as hard aluminum, super-hard aluminum, rust-proof aluminum, cast aluminum and the like. These aluminum alloys are widely used in the manufacturing industries of airplanes, automobiles, trains, and ships. In addition, a large number of aluminum and its aluminum alloys are used in space rockets, space shuttles, and satellites. For example, a supersonic aircraft consists of approximately 70% aluminum and its aluminum alloy. Aluminum is also used extensively in the construction of ships, and the amount of aluminum used in a large passenger ship often reaches several thousand tons.
2. The conductivity of aluminum is second only to silver, copper and gold. Although its conductivity is only 2/3 of that of copper, the density is only 1/3 of that of copper. Therefore, the same amount of electricity is delivered. The quality of aluminum wire is only half of that of copper wire. . The oxide film on the aluminum surface is not only resistant to corrosion but also has a certain degree of insulation, so aluminum has a wide range of uses in the electrical appliance manufacturing industry, the wire and cable industry, and the radio industry.
3. Aluminum is a good conductor of heat. Its thermal conductivity is three times higher than that of iron. Aluminum can be used in the manufacture of various heat exchangers, heat-dissipating materials and cookware.
4. Aluminum has good ductility (its ductility is second only to gold and silver) and can be made into aluminum foil thinner than 0.01 mm at 100 °C to 150 °C. These aluminum foils are widely used for packaging cigarettes, candy, etc., and can also be made into aluminum wire, aluminum strips, and can roll various aluminum products.
5. The surface of aluminum is resistant to corrosion due to its dense oxide protective film and is often used in the manufacture of chemical reactors, medical devices, refrigeration units, petroleum refining units, and oil and gas pipelines.
Aluminum powder has a silver-white luster (generally the color of the metal is mostly black in the powder), commonly used as a coating, commonly known as silver powder, silver paint, to protect the iron products from corrosion, and beautiful.
6. Aluminum burning in oxygen can release a lot of heat and dazzling light, often used in the manufacture of explosive mixtures, such as ammonium aluminum explosives (mixed with ammonium nitrate, charcoal powder, aluminum powder, soot and other combustible organic matter), combustion mixture (such as bombs and shells made of aluminothermic agents can be used to attack hard-to-fire targets or tanks, cannons, etc.) and lighting mixtures (such as 68% cerium nitrate, 28% aluminum powder, 4% shellac).
7. Aluminotherms are commonly used to smelt refractory metals and welded rails. Aluminum is also used as a deoxidizer in steel making. Aluminum powder and graphite, titanium dioxide (or other high melting point metal oxide) are uniformly mixed at a certain ratio, coated on metal, and calcined at high temperature to form high temperature resistant cermet. It has important applications in rocket and missile technology.
8. The aluminum plate also has good reflection performance for light. The reflected ultraviolet light is stronger than silver. The purer the aluminum, the better the reflection ability, so it is commonly used to manufacture high quality mirrors, such as solar cooker mirrors.
9. Aluminum has sound absorbing properties and sound effects are good, so aluminum is also used in broadcasting rooms and ceilings in modern large-scale architectural rooms.
10. Low temperature resistance, aluminum at the low temperature, its strength is increased without brittleness, so it is ideal for low temperature device materials, such as refrigerators, freezer, Antarctic snowmobile, hydrogen oxide production equipment.