[TheForge] How to spell Aluminium vs Aluminum

[David E. Smucker]

It is a $ 300 dollar story on the spelling of the word Aluminium.  In 1886, 
Charles Martin Hall invented and patented a process for smelting of 
aluminium in an electrolytic cell.  At almost the same time a Frenchmen by 
the name of Paul Heroult developed the same process in France.  The company 
the was formed by Hall was first know as the Reduction Company of 
Pittsburgh.  The company was soon rename as the Aluminum Company of America. 
As the story goes within Alcoa, when the first batch of company stationary 
was printed at a cost of $ 300 the word aluminium was misspelled as 
aluminum.  The company was too young and the cost too great to have new 
stationary printed.  So the USA came to use the aluminum spelling and the 
rest of the world the older aluminium spelling.

During WW II folks in the UK were very happy to have lots of "aluminum" 
shipped to the UK for the manufacture of aircraft.  The British also added a 
number of aluminium rolling mills in Wales, the west of England and 
Scotland.  The plant in Wales was near Swansea and never found by the German 
bombers during the war.  I worked there in 1980 and 81, it was closed this 
past spring.  Even in 1980 you could see on parts of the plant where it had 
been painted to look like a Welch village.

The Hall process reduce the cost to produce the basic metal by approx. 200 
times vs. the previous chemical methods.  Aluminum was the first new high 
volume metal since iron came into wide use.  Lots of aluminum out there in 
this world since the earth's crust is about 11 percent aluminum, mostly in 
the form of aluminum oxide in clay.

I spell aluminum with one i, since Alcoa pays my pension.

Dave
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <wmullett at bright.net>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: RE: [TheForge] Re: Aluminum bicycle fenders


> Now there you Brits go again...  messing with our English language.  :->
>
> --------------
>
>
> From: "Rich Maynard" <rich at maynard.org.uk>
> Date: Thu Nov 22, 4:06 AM
> To: <mspencer at tallships.ca>,  "'Sponsored by ABANA'" 
> <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: RE: [TheForge] Re: Aluminum bicycle fenders
> ..................<clipped>
> PS Aluminium not Aluminum ;-)
>
> Richard Maynard - Artist Blacksmith
> The Forge, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire SG10 6BS
>
> rich at muchhadhamforge.co.uk
> www.muchhadhamforge.co.uk
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>