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submitted 4 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 25 points 4 months ago

Aluminum is where it's at, and where it is, is everywhere.

Your cans? Aluminum. Your car? Mostly aluminum. Old wiring, you better believe that's aluminum. Your fucking phone screen is aluminum, sand paper is aluminum, half the birth stones are all aluminum let's fucking goooo baybee

[-] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Most cars are still steel. Source I work on cars in New England. So much rust, even on the ones with aluminum bodies, at least wherever it can touch a dissimilar metal and becomes a battery.

And crucially the important parts that keep it from exploding (cylinder liners) and save you in a crash (crumple and bumper cores) are almost all steel. Because it deforms better with simpler engineering.

See also iron brakes in most cars hardened steel bearings everywhere.

[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

I was referring to the engine block and pistons being aluminum. I assume chassis and many of the critical spinning bits are still steel or iron.

It's also mostly a shit post. I'm a machinist and I am surrounded by aluminum in funny forms.

[-] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 months ago

Yeah I’m mostly just shitting on it for fun too. But the pistons don’t work very long without steel rings, wrist pins and big end bolts.

The problem is we have to bring copper, brass and other fancy metals in them though, because the all spin on oil cushion bearings. Unless we’re talking Babbitt bushings from the early 1900s.