#light metals

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1. Despite being the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, aluminium is a young metal, discovered less than 200 years ago. It is now the second most used metal in the world, after iron.

2. Aluminium was named after alum, derived from the latin Alumenen, meaning ‘a bitter salt’, by Sir Humphry Davy. In 1808, Davy suggested Aluminium could be produced by electrolytic reduction from alumina (aluminium oxide), but did not manage to prove the theory in practice.

3. The first person to produce small amount of aluminium was Danish chemist Hans Christian Oersted, on 8 April 1825. However, this may not have been pure aluminium, but an alloy with the elements used in the experiments in the process of isolating the aluminium.

4. The first aluminium products are considered to be medals made during Napoléon III’s reign. Friedrich Woehler, a German chemist who improved Oersted’s isolation process, designed a rattle for Crown Prince Louis Napoléon made of aluminium and gold.

5. Aluminium is 100% recyclable. It is estimated that 75% of all aluminium ever produced, about 750 million tonnes, is still in use, and could all be recycled into new products.