Aluminium
A lightweight, corrosion-resistant and abundant metal.
Inside the Aluminium atom
Switch between Bohr and Quantum Cloud modes to compare a simple teaching model with a more realistic probability-based view, and follow the guided tour to explore the Aluminium atom step by step.
Electron configuration
[Ne] 3s2 3p1
A neutral Aluminium atom has 13 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 933 K (660 °C)
- Boiling point
- 2792 K (2519 °C)
- Density
- 2.7 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 1.61 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 125 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 577 kJ/mol
- Category
- Post-transition metals
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- 1825
- Discovered by
- Hans Christian Ørsted
- Origin of name
- Latin 'alumen', for alum.
Notable uses
Aircraft, packaging, power lines, and construction.
Where Aluminium comes from
Stellar fusion and dying stars
Formed in the carbon- and neon-burning layers of massive stars and released by their explosions.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 13
- Atomic mass
- 26.982
- Category
- Post-transition metals
- Group · Period
- 13 · 3
- Block
- p-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 3