Symbol: Al
Atomic number: 13
Category: poor metals
Group: 13
Period: 3
Block: p
Atomic weight: 26.9815386 g/mol
Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 3
CAS number: 7429-90-5
Phase: solid
Density: 2.70 kg/dm3 (near room temperature)
Melting point: 933.47 K (660.32 °C, 1220.58 °F)
Boiling point: 2792 K (2519 °C, 4566 °F)
Crystal structure: face centered cubic
Oxidation states: 3, 2, 1
Electronegativity: 1.61 (Pauling scale)
Name's origin: alumium
Name's meaning: the name that the chemist-inventor Humphry Davy gave to the metal base of the mineral alumina
Facts:
- is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third most abundant element therein, after oxygen and silicon
- makes up about 8% by weight of the Earth's solid surface
- is too reactive chemically to occur in nature as a free metal - instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals
- is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion (due to the phenomenon of passivation) and its low density
- is used in aerospace industry, transportation and building, and as a catalyst or additive in chemical mixtures, including being used in ammonium nitrate explosives to enhance blast power
- has nine isotopes, whose mass numbers range from 23 to 30
- is 100% recyclable without any loss of its natural qualities