AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM METALLURGY =============================== Whats the Point? . Why should you care which of the five metals youll be testing corrodes the quickest? Why should you care about metals at all, for that matter? . Metals have thousands of uses that affect our everyday lives, most of which we take for granted. Copper, for instance, is pliable and a good conductor of electricity. For those reasons, its used to make the wire inside of electrical cables. Without electrical cables wed have no electricity in our homes—no light, TV, or video games. . Aluminum is extremely strong and can be fashioned into thin sheets, making it vital for aircraft production. Think about that the next time you climb onto an Airplane. Metals are used to make the utensils we eat with, the coins we use to buy what we want, and the cars we drive. . Obviously, metals that are used to build aircraft, cars, and electrical wiring had to be extensively tested to make sure they were suitable for use. . You can be sure that there was far-reaching research and experimentation before the first copper wire was put to use in an electrical cable. Metallurgists—experts on metals—are constantly looking for new uses of metals in many fields, including medical, military, and aeronautics. . Metals—and how theyre used—are extremely important. Once you know how different metals hold up to corrosion, youll be able to better understand why they have particular roles, and why theyre important. In addition, youll be able to give Mom and Dad some pointers the next time theyre shopping for a new outdoor lamp or metal toy for your little brother . By experimenting with five different types of metal wire, youll be able to see which corrodes the fastest, and which ones hold up best under certain circumstances. Youll test each wire in both distilled water and salt water. Again, the types of metal youll be testing are: . Silver Steel Zinc Copper Aluminum . Your control group will be 10 pieces of wire—two each of the metals listed above. The variables are the distilled water and the salt water in which the metal wires will be immersed. Using the scientific method, youll learn which metal begins to corrode first, and which holds up the best. . What Do You Think Will Happen? . Think about what you may already know about different kinds of metals and how they react when exposed to rain, or air or water that contains a lot of salt. This will help you to formulate a hypothesis based within the context of knowledge you already possess. . Go back to the bicycle mentioned in the first sentence of this section. Under what type of circumstances did your bike rust? When it was stored in the dry garage? Or when you left it lying out in the yard for three days during a steady rain? . Why do you suppose that cold-weather drivers are advised to rinse off their cars every now and then during the winter season when road salts are being used? Have you ever noticed or heard people talk about problems with corrosion near the beach, where salt water is prevalent? . Do you already know, perhaps, which metals are most resistant to corrosion? If so, the experiment youll do will support and affirm your knowledge. If you dont, try to use common sense and any information you may have about this topic to come up with your best guess—or hypothesis. . FXT
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 23:30:51 +0000
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