ask aluminium Forum

Aluminum is the American spelling and aluminium is the British spelling for this ductile, malleable silver-white metal.

In 1812, its discoverer, Sir H. Davy, first called the metal alumium but then modified the word. This is one of a number of spelling differences between British and American English, such as: aeroplane/airplane, aesthetics/esthetics, colour/color, encyclopaedia/encyclopedia, paralyse/paralyze. The principle differences are: 1) a final -l is always doubled after one vowel in stressed and unstressed syllables in British English, but usually only in stressed syllables in American English; 2) some words end in -tre in British English and -terin American English; 3) some words end in -ogue in British English and -og in American English; 4) some words end in -our in British English and -or in American English; and 5) some verbs end in -ize or -ise in British English, but only in -ize in American English. In common speech, some 4,000 words are used differently in the UK from the United States.

The periodic table has a name for every element, and English has at least one word that corresponds to each name. In the case of the element with the symbol Al and the chemical number 13, English has two words: aluminum and aluminium.

The difference between these two words comes down to the differences between American and British English. While aluminum is the original word, British editors standardize around aluminium, to preserve consistency with elements like sodium, lithium, and titanium.

The word aluminum is a noun. Aluminum is a type of metal that is useful in a variety of applications because it is lightweight, resistant to corrosion, and excellent at conducting heat.

Here are some examples of aluminum in sentences,

Aluminum conducts electricity but not as well as silver, copper, or gold.
Kyle used aluminum baseball bats when he was young, but as he grew older, he switched to bats hewn of ash.
My cookware has a layer of aluminum bonded between layers of stainless steel, so that food heats more evenly.
One of the world’s largest aluminum stockpiles, which until a few months ago was stored under hay and plastic tarp in a Mexican desert, has been moved to a remote port here in southern Vietnam

Aluminium is the British English word for the same metal. The following chart compares usage of aluminium vs. aluminum in British English works published since 1800,

aluminum versus aluminium

Even though this chart isn’t scientific or exactingly accurate, it can still illustrate a long-term usage trend.

These sentences illustrate the British English aluminium,

“Bloody hell, Commerford, stop using that silly Italian pot; the coffee tastes like aluminium!” said Wilshire.
“Is the faucet made of aluminium, or stainless steel?” asked Bronwyn.
Velar is based on the same fundamental aluminium components as its sister car, as is common in the industry these days; just one of the revolutions the TT kicked-off nearly 20 years ago. –The Telegraph