Malleable, resistant to extreme temperatures, electrically conductive, waterproof... these are just some of the properties that have made it indispensable.

In 1865 the French Jules 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 were it not for the fact that it almost coincides with what was needed to manufacture the Apollo 8 capsule, more than a century later.

When the French writer devised his spacecraft with this singularity, it was only four decades since the Danish physicist Christian Oersted (1777-1851) had first isolated aluminum.

Bauxite, the mother of aluminum

A late discovery despite the fact that this element is, after oxygen and silica, the most common element in the earth's crust, and holds the title of being the most abundant metal in nature, ahead of iron and manganese.javascript:falsePUBLICITY 

The reason why it took so long to be isolated is because it is not found free, it must be extracted from a reddish-colored mineral called bauxite. This mineral owes its name to the fact that it was first discovered in the village of Les Baux in Provence by Pierre Berthier.

In 1866, Paul Heorult and Charles Hall developed a process whereby aluminum oxide is fused into cryolite and subjected to electric currents. This process makes it possible to create aluminum 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 1st century A.D. necropolis located near the ancient Augusta Emerita , a team of archaeologists discovered a few years ago the remains of makeup in a scallop that was used as a case or compact.

In it they discovered the 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 rubia (Rubia tinctorum) that was obtained from the use of alum as a fixative.

Alum or double aluminum potassium sulfate is a translucent white mineral that was used as a cosmetic by Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. When moistened and applied to the skin, it leaves a layer of minerals that has a bactericidal effect and eliminates underarm odor.

Alum stone has also been used for centuries as an aftershave, as it promotes skin healing.

An environmentally friendly material

We now use aluminum in much of our lives, from high-speed trains to windows, transmissions, telecommunications, automobiles and beverage cans. This is thanks to a whole constellation of properties including malleability, conductivity and lightness. It is also perfect for creating barriers against gases, moisture, light and oxygen, which makes it ideal for protecting pharmaceutical products and preventing loss of quality. Its excellent conductivity makes it indispensable for the construction of cables, since it can transmit electricity of over 700,000 volts.

In addition, and this is also very important, aluminum can be 100% recycled, which makes it highly environmentally friendly and a guarantee of sustainability. It is estimated that only 5% of the energy needed to extract aluminum is consumed to recycle it.

Article from ABC.es