Had deposits of aluminum metal existed and were widely available, how would they have impacted human history?
Would cast aluminum have been a viable competitor for bronze/iron in the ancient world for weapons and armor?
>>1064588
>Australia stronk
>>1064598
Bauxite isn't exploitable by premodern people though.
>>1064588
Aluminum is too weak, even cast aluminum, to make weapons or tools with.
I mean you could, but after a few uses they'd be worthless and unable to be used.
>>1064620
good enough for armor, though
Don't you need large amounts of electricity to extract the pure element from the ore?
>>1064588
>middle ages industry is comparable to today
Also armor doesn't need to hold an edge
>>1064818
>armor doesn't need to hold an edge
>>1064776
That's spaced laminate armour though.
>>1064866
>>1064808
Yes.
>>1064620
Thats not true. Yes its weak compared to other metals but it's still more than capable of fucking people up, it's not THAT weak. Consider people used copper weaponry and even weapons made of brittle stone and volcanic glass.
It wouldnt have held up to iron but the bronze age might have been the aluminium age.
>>1064908
well, no. bronze tools rely on weight and momentum and flint ones on good edge. aluminium has neither but instead all the worst features of both materials..
>>1064808
OP said metallic aluminum, not ore, which would imply a native form.
Aluminum is relatively easy to melt and cast, if humanity collapsed today and all technology was forgotten, even a primitive society could still re-use all the aluminum we've already extracted and left lying around.
>>1064776
That's part of laminate.
And Bradley is bad example of "well armoured" vehicle.
Typical modern tank uses Steel/ceramic composites, outside of Abrams which uses steel/DU composite because they want to make it easier to destroy them with HEAT warheads or something.
>>1064588
> deposits of aluminum metal
You don't have a clue about how aluminium is made, do you?
>>1064588
is this a bait against historians or are you really a moron in chemistry ?
