Harrekin
Well-Known Member
You're so wrong.teh fux?
i am aware centrifugal force is not a property of matter, and that it is a property of inertia, thats pure semantics.
objects in rotation, when released from their restraint move in a direction which is in fact the direction they would have been going if unrestrained.
if you wish to pretend that centrifugal force is imaginary, then you must also assign that same fictitious nature to inertia.
aluminium doesnt come in a forged variety, nor does it come in a super strong version that makes it suitable for use as armour, crush bearings, or in fact, any variety that will withstand forces that would heat it (low melt point), abrade it (low abrasion resistance) compress it (low hardness and low tensile strength) flex it (low malleability) or shock it (it is both weak and brittle when compared to steel or even copper). take a piece of aluminium stock and beat it with a hammer on an anvil, and in short order youll have tiny broken pieces ( i have done this)
as a solid chunk of stuff, aluminium doesnt burn readily, but if you shave it on a lathe, grind it with a file, or powder it with a grinding wheel, you can light it on fire easily (add a little iron oxide powder and you have a party!)
why doesnt your aluminium frying pan catch fire on the stove? because it transfers the heat throughout it's mass rapidly, making ignition difficult. as a powder it burns like a motherfucker.
alloying aluminium with other metals doesnt magically transform it into "adamantium" suitable for making wolverine style blades, it is still a weak brittle metal that spalls when applied with friction and pressure (thats why aluminium engine blocks have steel sleeves for the pistons), and while aluminium is highly resistant to natural oxidation thanks to it's patina of aluminium oxide which stops further oxidation, even a weak solution of any caustic material will pit it out rapidly (like when you put your aluminium pans in the dishwasher) in a stronger solution, it dissolves fast.
US Army tests on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle clearly demonstrated that when hit with a high velocity round (even non-incendiary rounds), aluminium armour can, and does powder then ignite. with a secondary fuel source it burns like a chanukah candle.
BLOCK aluminium "increases strength" when under pressure, but airplanes arent solid blocks of aluminium, they have "crumple zones" that allow it to collapse rather than resiting impact forces.
"stressed aluminium" has been used for a long time in making aircraft skins and fuselage structures, because it is LIGHT, not because it is particularly strong. "stressing" it allows you to make the shit even thinner without sacrificing much strength, but no matter how you slice it, aluminium is WEAK AND BRITTLE (not many aluminium knives, axes, wrenches, crowbars, hammers, or saws out there) it has shit strength. even titanium doesnt work well as a wrench or hammer because it is brittle.
if aluminium and it's alloys had the strength and versatility you ascribe to it, then my entire tool box would be full of shit made from this Wonder Metal Of The Millennium, but it aint.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corundum
EDIT: And thats just one commonly forming type of Aluminium Oxide.