Evening star., 1938-03-13
The Miracle of
Aluminium
BY FREDERIC J. HASKlN.

the greatest increases Of any marketable
product in so years. The greatest
change in price of any commodity used
In the past 100 years has been in the
price OF this metal.
Aluminium once sold for 500 per pound.
1t was selling at SIG per pound in 1884
when the Washington Monument was
capped with this interesting metal. The
cost OF the cap was not so great, since
only 100 ounces were used. About 10
years ago the Monument was fitted with
a new and larger cap made Of aluminium,
and weighing $500 pounds. The cost
was still not SO great, since the price of
aluminium had dropped to approximately
20 cents per pound. At that time alumni
mum was generally referred to as silver
clay.
A little more than so years ago the
annual consumption of aluminium in the
world was reckoned in ounces. Today
the annual consumption reaches nearly
200 ,000, 900 pounds for the United States
alone. The industry employs more than
10000 people and the invested capital in
the enterprise is in excess of $500, 900, ,000
This is an index to the demand for
product that once the public would not
buy, the demand being SO small as late
as 1894 that the annual output was only
1000 pounds.
Discovery and use of copper dates back
to at least 3,700 BIC, and probably to
5000 BIC The history of lead goes back
nearly that far Iron was used as early
as 5000 BE-, while zinc was known more
than 1000 years ago. Scientifically,
aluminium dates back to 1925, but COM
mercially starts with the close of the last
century.
Aluminium comes from the oxide alum
ina-a fine white powder that resembles
cooking soda. Alumina comprises about
per cent of the earth's crust Iron is
the next most abundant and comprises
about 5la per cent. Alumina is the basis
Of all clay, which itself is produced by
the spontaneous decomposition of granite
and similar rocks. In free state, alum.
ina occurs in the form of carborundum
and is emery, the common kind used for
polishing.
Aluminium and oxygen mixed together
with little foreign matter to add color
ing. make artificial rubies and sapphires.
The making of such compositions was
one of the first uses of aluminium, and
it is still used for such purposes.
X
The white looking tank car that is
seen rolling along the rails is constructed
of such cars by 1888 pounds. The roof
structure of the modern railway coach
weighs 1000 pounds less than the old
type constructed with steel and iron. Use
of aluminium has made the difference.
Modern StrQot co ny,irror
alton and deceleration, higher top speeds,
greater riding comfort and lowered power
consumption and track wear Aluminium
has made these things possible. A cubic
foot of aluminium weighs only 162 pounds,
whereas cubic foot OF gold weighs 1903
pounds. Weight comparisons with other
metals are equally interesting. In dura-
bility, aluminium ranks among the high.
est metals, and durability. weight and
beauty have created an enormous de-
mand for this comparatively new metal.
A German scientist by the name of
Frederick Woehler was the first to ex-
tract aluminium from the earth. De Vile,
a French chemist, was the first to place
the metal on commercial scale, having
undertaken experiments at the request
OF Napoleon III, Emperor Of France Un.
able to produce the metal In large guam.
titles, commercial possibilities never went
beyond the use for jewelry. For a half
century chemists in many parts of Europe
struggled to get the metal in large
amounts out of the most abundant sub
stance-alumina. This struggle was
ended February 10. 1856, through the
genius Of a chemically minded young
American. Charles Martin Hall, a stu
dent of Oberlin College.
Hall conceived the idea Of using cleo.
tricity. He had learned that alumina
could not be electrically isolated in the
presence Of water. and that 1t would not
dissolve in any common solvent such as
alcohol, ether or benzol. Hall took cryo-
lite, a beautiful white mineral which
occurs in great quantities in Greenland,
and scarcely anywhere else in the world,
pulverized it and heated it in crucible.
The cryolite melted, and then placing
the alumina into the melted substance,
the powder disappeared as sugar does In
water.
Having so far advanced satisfactorily,
he prepared carbon lined iron crucible,
and again dissolved the alumina in the
cryolite. Connecting the crucible with
one side OF an electric circuit, he intro
duced solid carbon electrode into the
cryolite and connected the electrode with
the other side of the crucible, thus using
the method of electrolysis When the
electricity was turned on, aluminium ap-
peared In the bottom of the crucible. The
way had been paved for large CONNER
c1al development Of one Of the worlds s
most interesting and useful metals.
But while the way had been opened
for the successful commercial develop
ment OF metal that was soon to play a
conspicuous part in the industrial life of
the world, those who invested in the
manufacture Of aluminium met with keen
disappointment at first. These investors
soon discovered that remarkable new
metal had to be sold to an Indifferent
world. They had dreamed OF aluminium
bridges and aluminium buildings. In the
slow process of interesting a skeptical
public, these dreams faded away like
mirage. Commercial interests learned
that public must be educated, and the
process Of selling had to be carried on
both educationally and scientifically.
The automobile was just coming into
use; transmission lines were increasing
IN demand, and strong cables were need
ed to minimize the cost of poles. Through
tnese and other uses aluminium eradu-
ally found its way into the markets Of
the world v.
Into the modes Of transporta tion-a,r