Which is more valuable? It depends.
Abundant and versatile, aluminum is now cheap and widely available.
But early in the 19th century, the French Emperor Napoleon III served
food to his most distinguished guests on aluminum plates. Why was
aluminumthe most abundant metal in Earths crustonce
so precious? For many years after its discovery in 1825, aluminum was
extremely difficult to remove from rocks. In 1886, when an inexpensive
method of extraction was developed, aluminum suddenly became cheap
and widely available.
When the Washington Monument was
dedicated in 1885, it was topped with an aluminum cap. At that
time, aluminums price rivaled silvers.
Glittering and durable, gold has historically been a symbol of wealth
and power. Yet today, gold is a workhorse metal for high technology.
Why is gold so valuable? Gold is scarce. Throughout all of history,
only about 116,000 metric tons have been foundenough to make a
cube about 18 m (59 ft) on a side. Gold is beautiful. Ancient cultures
equated its brilliance with the Suns, and we still prize its glow
in jewelry and ornaments. Gold has properties valuable to industry,
such as excellent electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance.
Sun rays flare out from this
famous gold mask of Inti, the sun god of the Incas.
Casey (speaking to camera): You wont believe today. Ms. Everly found out I
hadnt started on my science project yet so she gave me a topic.
Get this: Which is more valuable gold or aluminum? Really, I
mean, its like jewelry versus soda cans.
Computer speaking: Hello, Casey.
Casey (speaking to camera): This is gonna be so simple. But I guess I better do a
little work. (speaking to computer) Lets go.
Computer: Where to, Casey?
Casey (speaking to computer): Tell me about gold.
Computer: Yes, gold.
Casey: Hey, neat. How about gold in history.
Narration on computer: Gold: treasured since the beginning of recorded
history for its beauty and permanence. In civilizations around the world gold
has been an enduring symbol of wealth and power, important as currency,
indispensable in ceremony and myth. The love of gold is one of the oldest of
human passions and it is still honored above all metals.
Casey: See, I told you. A no-brainer. Obviously gold is more
Computer: Not so fast, Casey. A little more history: The Great Gold Rush,
California in 1849.
Dialog between to characters set in 1849:
Character #1: Hey, Haynes, ya seen any gold yet?
Character #2: I seen a lot of rock.
Character #1: Ya know, Ive heard stories bout a metal
thats twice as valuable as gold.
Character #2: Ya dont say?
Character #1: Its called a-lu-min-eeum. Now if I could find me a streak
of that pure, Id be rich in one flap of a jack.
Casey: Aluminum more valuable than gold? Youve got to be kidding.
Computer: No, its true. The price of aluminum was more than
double the price of gold for much of the 19th century.
Casey: Well why? Wasnt there much of it around?
Narration on computer: Actually, aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earths
crust. But unlike gold, which is found chemically pure, aluminum is found
always tightly bonded to oxygen. It wasnt even isolated as a metal until 1825.
Back then, nobody knew an inexpensive way to extract it from rocks. What little
aluminum there was, was made into elegant jewelry, novelties for royalty and
in 1884, even the tip-top of the Washington Monument. But some people, like the
English novelist, Charles Dickens, could foresee the aluminum we know today:
(in Dickens voice) What do you think of metal thats white as silver,
unalterable as gold, as easily melted as copper, as tough as iron, malleable,
tactile and lighter as glass? Its future place in all sorts of industrial
applications is undoubted.
Casey: Sure, aluminums everywhere today. Wait, go back. What happened?
Computer: Rewinding to 1886. A young man in Ohio named Charles Morton
Hall was working with his sister, Julia, in a little make-shift laboratory next
to the kitchen. He discovered how to use electricity to separate metallic aluminum
from its ore.
Casey: Way to go guy!
Computer: In France, Paul Herreau had also found the same answer.
By 1893 the new Paul Herreau Process had lowered the price of
aluminum to 65 cents a pound.
Casey: So now aluminum was cheap and gold was still valuable.
Way more valuable.
Computer: Wait Casey. Since when does valuable just mean high price?
Its true that aluminum became less rare and less expensive. But it also became
so useful that the last 100 years have been called The Aluminum Age.
Narration on computer: Aluminum continues to remake the modern world.
We can see it everywhere; in architecture, transportation, electrical cables,
communications and consumer products. Because its light-weight, strong,
versatile and easy to recycle, aluminum is becoming more and more valuable
in our daily lives.
Casey: So is that it then? Useful aluminum wins over beautiful gold
Computer: Hold on Casey.
Narration on computer: Today, gold is much more than just a pretty
face. Its beauty and rarity keep the price of gold high, but its real value may
lie in its unique properties for advanced technologies. Gold is one of the
best electrical conductors and it never corrodes. Billions of circuits in millions of computers depend on microscopic amounts of gold.
Casey: So without gold, you wouldnt be so smart?
Computer: Umm, in all honesty, no.
Narration on computer: One ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire 50
miles long. Gold reflects intense heat, even in a layer so thin you can see
Casey: Is there still a lot of gold out there?
Narration on computer: Oh yes. The easy gold has been found. But
with todays improved technology were able to extract gold from
much lower grade ore. Its refined, melted and poured into molds, resulting
in bars of high purity. High-tech manufacturers rely on gold to do some of
the most demanding jobs in the modern world. We are still living in
a Golden Age.
Casey: Hey, I thought this was the Aluminum Age.
Computer: That too Casey. The world isnt simple, but it sure
Casey: Ok, I get it. Wed have a hard time living without
either one: aluminum or gold. I cant choose. What do you think? Well,
if you could think.
Computer: Its your science project, not mine. Where to,
Casey: Ok, lets write.
Computer: Yes, write.
Casey: This is called Science Report. Whats it Worth
by Casey Russell. What makes a metal valuable? Is it because its rare
or because its beautiful or useful?