Page 5 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Thus, it is sometimes known as the metal of the 20th century, just as iron was the metal of the 19th century.
Although electricity is relatively more plentiful and less expensive than it used to be, refining aluminium from its ore is still
a costly process. This is why aluminium is often recycled. This way we do not have to “waste” energy refining more of the metal than we need to.
 For centuries aluminium could not easily be refined. This made it more precious than gold or silver! For much of the 19th century some important and wealthy people even used plates of aluminium in preference to fine china or silver.
For the same reason aluminium was used in settings that contained precious stones. The object shown here belonged to Napoleon III of France (b.1808 –d.1873).
 Aluminium can now be isolated from its ores relatively cheaply and has many everyday applications.
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