The spelling of a lightweight metal.

["Janet Scruggs" <scruggs@mbay.net>]

Fellow listers and seekers of the trivial, as I am about thirty digests
behind in my qlist readings my comment may be too little too late.  But, as
you can see, that will not stop me from sharing.  I do not recall in which
saloon in which I heard this... but there is a reason why there are two
spellings for the element known as Al.  

As they discovered it, the first and therefore proper spelling of the
element is the British spelling, aluminium.  Many years later when the
first company in the new United States to manufacture this material, then
the Aluminum Company of America, now known as ALCOA, sent their new company
letterhead to the printer a mistake was made.  The typesetter accidentally
left out the second "i" and the new company could not afford to have it
reprinted... the laws were not so favorable to the aggrieved back then.  So
in the US the element became commonly known as a-lu-mi-num, through an
uncorrected error.  

Incidentally, the cap on top of the Washington monument is made of cast
aluminum, by ALCOA.  At the time, 1880s I think, the casting of an object
of that size in solid aluminum was a technological breakthrough and was the
crowning success of a relatively new industry.  

Seems that I recently read that the all-aluminum frame of the A8 Audi is
not welded, but bonded.  By the way, "bonded" is engineer talk for "glued."
 It is done this way to prevent annealing from taking place in the aluminum
welding process and reducing the long-term strength of the structure. 
Unconfirmed rumor has it the frame of the 928 was welded aluminum and is
now less rigid than when new... in part accounting for the drop in prices
of the earlier models.  

And another thing... ever wonder why all high performance military aircraft
have a top speed of Mach 2.35?  That is the speed at which air friction
heats the leading edge of all surfaces to 350degF.  350degF is the
temperature to which aluminum, and aluminium, can be heated and still have
the same strength when it cools.  Any faster, therefore hotter, and the
aircraft is only 99% of its pre-flight strength after it cools.  But what
about the Mach 3+ SR-71, you ask?  For that very reason it is made mostly
of titanium, which has much higher temperature toleration... and is
lighter.  

To complete the circle, note the similarity in the spelling of these
elements.  Titan_i_um... alumin_i_um, both British in origin.  

Regards, Gross Scruggs
'87 5kCSq, Fuchs, Pearl, Eibach/Koni, ATe Powerdisc/carbon kevlar, HKS EVC
III (14 and 18psi), Scott Mo WG spring, MSD-6a, Yoko AVS int, Graydon's SS
mega muffler.  As antenna ball #61 so aptly put it... YEEEHAAAAA!!!