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Steel is amazing - and as a result we use it in all kinds of places where its properties aren't fully utilized. Aluminum has been growing into that role of "st
by ip26 5y ago
Steel is amazing - and as a result we use it in all kinds of places where its properties aren't fully utilized.
Aluminum has been growing into that role of "steel alternative", but there's still room for other alternatives.
- jjtheblunt 5y agoyou just reminded me of the marvelous magnesium NeXT cases, before Apple's alumin[i]um became popular.
- xxs 5y agomagnesium is sort of a more expensive version of al.
- gnabgib 5y agoIn that it's one electron from it (like Silicon)? Magnesium is 2.2x stronger, 1.08x harder, and 2.05x more costly, 0.65x as thermally conductive and, 0.64x as dense. Think I'm missing your similarity metric
- burnished 5y agoWhat do you do that the differences between magnesium and aluminum are noteworthy in casual conversation? Machining?
- katbyte 5y agoYou just reminded me that I used to have a camera with an magnesium body. That thing was a delightfully tough beast.
- canadianfella 5y agoBecause it has similar properties as aluminum. This is obvious. Why play dumb?
- nl 5y agoFirstly those characteristics are quite similar for different metals. Secondly Aluminium is normally alloyed with other metals bringing the two even closer. Finally it's a light, strong metal and used in many similar industrial products as Aluminium.
- xxs 5y ago"nl" already brought few points. As a practical test: take a piece made of cast magnesium (alloy) or cast aluminum (alloy). It'd be hard to easily tell each other apart, save for using a weak acid. Their strength is similar (esp. when alloyed, still worse off for the aluminum) but magnesium is non-trivially lighter. Here, a random quote [0] Magnesium is also better at casting components with thinner walls and tighter tolerances than aluminum. However, even with the many advantages of magnesium, aluminum remains a less expensive alternative for die casting. [0]: https://diecasting.com/blog/the-difference-between-aluminum-magnesium-and-zinc-alloys/ https://diecasting.com/blog/the-difference-between-aluminum-...
- contingencies 5y agoIt is also very dangerous to machine. https://www.china-machining.com/blog/cnc-machining-magnesium-safety/ https://www.china-machining.com/blog/cnc-machining-magnesium...
- TaylorAlexander 5y agoYep I was really pleased to see that ikea has started offering cheap galvanized steel shelves (named “Hyllis”). Glad to have something fully recyclable.
- aurizon 5y agoLooking back at Aluminium, it was once very costly - there was no economical way to extract it from clay by traditional metallurgy. When the Hall process of electrolytic extraction from molten salts was invented = huge price decline, and useage. Titanium is in a similar position, fairly common, but hard to extract economically. I hope there is a low cost electrolytic to recover Titanium found some day, as it is a very good material for all manner of uses at a lower price. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93H%C3%A9roult_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93H%C3%A9roult_proc... There is a new Titanium process, not as cheap as I would like, but a lot better than we have now. https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-021-00166-8 https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-021-00166-8
- zardo 5y ago>Looking back at Aluminium, it was once very costly - there was no economical way to extract it from clay by traditional metallurgy. Supposedly Napoleon III had aluminum tableware for his most honored guests, and gold for everyone else.
- aurizon 5y agoYes, It was very hard to liberate Aluminum from oxygen with his level of chemistry...
- pitaj 5y agoTitanium is extremely difficult to machine, which is part of why titanium parts (like those used in airplanes) are so expensive.
- Consultant32452 5y agoWe may be low on aluminum for a while. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-14/aluminum-makers-sound-the-alarm-about-u-s-magnesium-shortage https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-14/aluminum-...