han nine out of every ten miles of large- diameter electrical cable are made from aluminum, rather than traditional copper. This is because aluminum is cheaper and, lighter requiring less pylons to hold up the cables. (Advantages to Aluminum) Like all metals, aluminum conducts heat and can be used either to carry or bring heat to a cold object. Aluminum is sometimes used to make cooling fins, which are sticks of aluminum that bring heat away from an object, such as on a motorcycle, aircraft or a computer chip. Aluminum heats evenly and cools quickly, which also makes it popular for beverage cans and ice cube trays. (Knapp, 14) One of the most useful features of aluminum is its reflective properties. Aluminum reflects about 80 percent of the light that strikes it. (Bowman, 392) This property has made the metal widely used in lighting fixtures. Aluminum also reflects heat as well; it reflects almost nine-tenths of the heat that reaches it. It can be used to reflect heat back inside a room to help keep it warm, or it can be used to reflect heat away from a home to keep it cool. For this reason aluminum is often used as part of the insulation of a house and as roofing material. Also, when fire fighters must walk through flames, they wear special suits coted with aluminum to reflect the strong heat. Astronauts' space suits also have an aluminum coating which prevents extreme heat loss and as well as gain. (Knapp, 21) The food and drink industry is the world's biggest user of aluminum. Factories that make aluminum containers account for about one third of the world's demand for aluminum. (Aluminum Facts) By far the greatest demand is for aluminum cans, which have replaced more traditional tin-plated steel can. A tin can is made from steel that has been coated with tin and sealed by soldering. The tin coating can be scratched away, allowing the steel to rust. Aluminum cans are lighter, do not rust, and can be easily shaped, thus removing the n...
