142 



out; also lumps of silver and lead, of nearly equal bulk, for the sake 

 of showinoj the relative colour and vveiirht. 



While this is not strictly a new metal (having been discovered by 

 Wohler in 1828), its production by a new process, and upon a com- 

 paratively large scale, by M. Deville, and the developement of its re- 

 markable properties, have given it, in France, all the eclat of a fresh 

 discovery. Although it has been exhibited in ingots, at the Academy 

 of Sciences, it is still held at a price little less than that of pure gold; 

 but the chemists of Europe, who take the liveliest interest in this 

 subject, expect to cheapen the process of manufacturing the metal 

 from its earthy oxide (alumina), by the agency of galvanism. 



We are en'mfred in investifratinii; its behaviour in the acids, and in 

 the fire, and in other circumstances, and will probably make a more 

 extended notice, at a future meeting of the Society. 



Meanwhile, it must certainly excite the interest of any one, accus- 

 tomed to consider heaviness, or high specific gravity, as an invalua- 

 able characteristic of metals, to take hold of a metal, just coming into 

 the market, which is only one-fourth as heavy as standard silver. Its 

 specific gravity is reported at 2.6; we find this specimen to be 2.7: 

 but it is said there is an admixture of about five per cent, of iron, 

 which is as pure as it has yet been obtained, by the new process. 



Dr. Farnum informs us that it is already in use for making fine 

 balances, for which purpose, as well as for small weights, it must 

 prove invaluable. No doubt it will also be in request for other 

 branches of art, if the price can be brought down, as some anticipate, 

 to 50 cents a pound; or even to 50 cents an ounce, which is a more 

 reasonable expectation. Every bed or bank of clay, whether the 

 potter's or brickmaker's, is a mine of aluminum in which there is pre- 

 sent from ten to twenty per cent, of the metal; but the abundance of 

 the ore is met by the difficulty and expense of its extraction. 



So very desirable is it to have a light substitute for the copper 

 cent, in currency, that it has occurred to us as possible, or probable, 

 that eventually this substitute will be found in aluminum, pure or al- 

 loyed. This probability is the principal incentive to our own inves- 

 tigations. 



Should the market price ever come dow^n to 50 cents an ounce troy 

 (for example), a coin of aluminum, about as large as our dime (that 

 is, in hulk, not in weight), could be aficjrded for one cent. Its extreme 

 lightness would make it convenient to carry about, and would prevent 

 its being confounded with silver money. 



