EnvThes
type: ConceptScheme

aluminum
type: Concept

deprecated concept
type: Concept

aluminum
type: Concept
in scheme: EnvThes
is replaced by: aluminum
alternative label: Al
scope note: US LTER controlled vocabulary
definition: Aluminium (or aluminum) is a chemical element in the boron group with symbol Al and atomic number 13. It is a silvery white, soft, ductile metal. Aluminium is the third most abundant element (after oxygen and silicon), and the most abundant metal, in the Earth's crust (occurs widely in nature in clays). It makes up about 8% by weight of the Earth's solid surface. 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 became implicated as an environmental health hazard in the 1980s on two counts. Biomedical scientists looking for possible causes of Alzheimer's disease, the premature senility indicated by loss of memory and confusion, found a circumstantial link with aluminium. The theory is a controversial one.
broader: deprecated concept
deprecated: true