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In 1865 the French Julio Verne published ‘From the Earth to the Moon’, where the ship that carried the ‘first astronauts‘ was made of aluminum, approximately nine thousand kilograms were needed. A figure that would be anecdotal if it were not for the fact that it almost coincides with what was necessary to manufacture the capsule of the apollo 8More than a century later.
When the French writer devised his spaceship with this singularity, just four decades ago the Danish physicist Christian Oersted (1777-1851) had isolated aluminum for the first time.
Bauxite, the mother of aluminum
A late discovery despite the fact that this element is, after oxygen and silica, the most common in the earth’s crust, and holds the title of being the most abundant metal in nature, ahead of iron and manganese.
The reason why it took so long to be isolated is because it is not free, it must be extracted from a reddish mineral called bauxite. This mineral owes its name to the fact that it was discovered for the first time in the village of Les Baux -in Provence- by Pierre Berthier.
in 1866 Paul Heorult y Charles Hall developed a process by which aluminum oxide is melted into cryolite, and subjected to electric currents. This process allows aluminum to be created from bauxite. It is estimated that four tons of this mineral are needed to obtain two tons of alumina, from which, finally, one ton of aluminum is extracted.
natural deodorant
In tomb A6 of a necropolis from the 1st century AD. of C. located next to the old Augusta Emerita A few years ago, a team of archaeologists discovered the remains of makeup on a scallop that was used as a case or compact.
In it they discovered remains of a product that had remained intact during all this time. It is thought that it contained a cosmetic obtained from a plant called blonde (Rubia tinctorum) that was obtained from the use of alum as a fixative.
Alum or double sulfate of aluminum and potassium is a translucent white mineral that was used as a cosmetic by Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. After moistening and applying to the skin, it leaves a layer of minerals that have a bactericidal effect and eliminate the bad smell of the armpits.
The alum stone was also used for centuries as an aftershave, since this element favors the healing of the skin.
An environmentally friendly material
Right now we use aluminum in much of our lives, from high-speed trains to windows to transmissions, telecommunications, cars and beverage cans. All this thanks to a whole constellation of properties including malleability, conductivity and lightness. In addition, it is also perfect for creating barriers against gases, humidity, light and oxygen, a particularity that makes it ideal for protecting pharmaceutical products and preventing loss of quality. As for its excellent conduction, it makes it essential for the construction of cables since it allows electricity to be transmitted in excess of 700,000 volts.
In addition, and this is also very important, aluminum can be 100% recycled, which makes it highly respectful of the environment and a guarantee of sustainability. It is estimated that only 5% of the energy needed to extract it is consumed to recycle aluminum.
Pedro Gargantilla is an internist at El Escorial Hospital (Madrid) and the author of several popular books.
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