Aluminum -

Today, it is the backbone of modern industry, from the foil in your kitchen to the fuselages of commercial jets.

In 1884, a small 6-pound aluminum pyramid was placed atop the Washington Monument as a luxury ornament and lightning conductor. Construction aluminum

In the mid-1800s, pure aluminum was so rare that Napoleon III hosted state banquets where the most honored guests were given aluminum utensils while others used gold. Today, it is the backbone of modern industry,

Aluminum is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (8.1%) and the most plentiful metal on our planet. Despite its ubiquity, it was once more valuable than gold because it is never found in its pure metallic form in nature—it is always tightly bound in compounds like bauxite. Aluminum is the third most abundant element in

Aluminum salts were used for thousands of years in medicines and dyes.

Charles Martin Hall and Paul Héroult independently discovered an economical way to extract aluminum via electrolysis. This Hall-Héroult process is still the primary method used today.

Aluminum: The "Silver from Clay" That Built the Modern World