Aluminum

Type: Mineral
Periodic Element: (Al)
RDA: None listed
Importance- To Body:
Generally considered hazardous or detrimental biologically. Aluminium increases estrogen-related gene expression in human breast cancer cells cultured in the laboratory. The estrogen-like effects of these salts have led to their classification as metalloestrogens.
Distribution- In Body:
In very high doses, aluminium is associated with altered function of the blood–brain barrier. Consumption of acidic foods or liquids with aluminium enhances aluminium absorption, and maltol has been shown to increase the accumulation of aluminium in nerve and bone tissues.
Excess Effects:
Some People experience allergic reactions to aluminium and experience contact dermatitis, digestive disorders, vomiting or other symptoms upon contact or ingestion of products containing aluminium such as antiperspirants and antacids.
Otherwise, there is evidence of some toxicity if it is consumed in amounts greater than 40 mg/day per kg of body mass. Excessive consumption of antacids containing aluminium compounds and excessive use of aluminium-containing antiperspirants provide more significant exposure levels.
Exposure to powdered aluminium or aluminium welding fumes can cause pulmonary fibrosis.
Deficiency Effects:
None listed
Sources Food:
Some studies point to risks associated with increased exposure to the metal. Aluminium in food may be absorbed more than aluminium from water.
Sources Environmental/Geographic:
(OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 15 mg/m3 time weighted average (TWA) for total exposure and 5 mg/m3 TWA for respiratory exposure. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit is the same for respiratory exposure but is 10 mg/m3 for total exposure, and 5 mg/m3 for fumes and powder.
Supplement Information:
Research correlating Aluminum as a factor in Alzheimer’s is inconclusive; aluminium accumulation may be a consequence of the disease rather than a causal agent.

Aluminum (Wikipedia)

This article is about the metallic element. For other uses, see Aluminium (disambiguation).

Aluminium,  ₁₃Al

General properties
Pronunciation	Aluminium: /ˌæljʊˈmɪniəm/ ( listen) (AL-yuu-MIN-ee-əm) Aluminum: /əˈluːmɪnəm/ ( listen) (ə-LOO-min-əm)
Alternative name	aluminum (U.S., Canada)
Appearance	silvery gray metallic
Standard atomic weight (Ar, standard)	7001269815385000000♠26.9815385(7)
Aluminium in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson B ↑ Al ↓ Ga magnesium ← aluminium → silicon
Atomic number (Z)	13
Group	group 13 (boron group)
Period	period 3
Element category	post-transition metal, sometimes considered a metalloid
Block	p-block
Electron configuration	[Ne] 3s2 3p1
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 3
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Melting point	933.47 K ​(660.32 °C, ​1220.58 °F)
Boiling point	2743 K ​(2470 °C, ​4478 °F)
Density (near r.t.)	2.70 g/cm3
when liquid (at m.p.)	2.375 g/cm3
Heat of fusion	10.71 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	284 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	24.20 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 1482 1632 1817 2054 2364 2790
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	+3, +2, +1, −1, −2 ​(an amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 1.61
Ionization energies	1st: 577.5 kJ/mol 2nd: 1816.7 kJ/mol 3rd: 2744.8 kJ/mol (more)
Atomic radius	empirical: 143 pm
Covalent radius	121±4 pm
Van der Waals radius	184 pm
Spectral lines
Miscellanea
Crystal structure	​face-centered cubic (fcc)
Speed of sound thin rod	(rolled) 5000 m/s (at r.t.)
Thermal expansion	23.1 µm/(m·K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity	237 W/(m·K)
Electrical resistivity	28.2 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic ordering	paramagnetic
Magnetic susceptibility	+16.5·10−6 cm3/mol
Young's modulus	70 GPa
Shear modulus	26 GPa
Bulk modulus	76 GPa
Poisson ratio	0.35
Mohs hardness	2.75
Vickers hardness	160–350 MPa
Brinell hardness	160–550 MPa
CAS Number	7429-90-5
History
Naming	after alumina (aluminium oxide), itself named after mineral alum
Prediction	Antoine Lavoisier (1782)
Discovery and first isolation	Hans Christian Ørsted (1824)
Named by	Humphry Davy (1812)
Main isotopes of aluminium
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 26Al trace 7.17×105 y β+ 26Mg ε 26Mg γ – 27Al 100% stable
view talk edit | references | in Wikidata

Aluminium or aluminum is a chemical element with symbol Al and atomic number 13. It is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic and ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth's crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below. The chief ore of aluminium is bauxite. Aluminium metal is so chemically reactive that native specimens are rare and limited to extreme reducing environments. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals.

Aluminium is remarkable for its low density and its ability to resist corrosion through the phenomenon of passivation. Aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and important in transportation and building industries, such as building facades and window frames. The oxides and sulfates are the most useful compounds of aluminium.

Despite its prevalence in the environment, no known form of life uses aluminium salts metabolically, but aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals. Because of these salts' abundance, the potential for a biological role for them is of continuing interest, and studies continue.