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Humans and Metal

What are metals? A metal can be defined as any chemical element that is a

conductor of both electricity and heat and also forms ions and ionic bonds with

non-metals. Metals have existed and been used many centuries ago by the

ancient people, even far back as 6000 BC. Such metals were gold, silver, iron,

copper and a few others. However, in todays society there are much more types

of metals than there were centuries ago. Metals are used every day and are

extremely essential for sustainability and development of life.Plants require

magnesium for green leaves and to harness the suns energy to make food.

Humans need iron to make hemoglobinwhich is the chemical in red blood cells

that carries oxygen.Without iron, we would suffocate, because we could not get

oxygen from our lungs to our muscles.

There are a lot of different types of metals today and they all are used for

numerous things.Depending on the type of metal and their qualities they are

used for certain reasons and every has their own usages, therefore metals are

important. However, I think three of most important ones would be, iron, copper

and aluminum. The main reason being, they are used everywhere, everyday and

is essential in enhancing life and making it easier for us. The main type of metal

among the three would be iron. Biologically this element is used by the body to

make tendons and ligaments and chemicals in our brain are controlled by the

presence or absence of iron. It is also important for maintaining a healthy immune

system and for digesting certain things in the food that we eat.

On a physical aspect, Iron is durable and is a very good conductor of heat and

electricity.Iron can be said to be one of the main building blocks for civilization

and it is used every single day in the construction industry worldwide. Some

important applications of iron would be, construction, transportation, food

processing, farming and household appliances.A variety of essential equipments

of daily life are made from iron especially in transportation. It is used

commercially for the manufacture of ships, aero planes, motor cars, trains and

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various industrial machines and we all know how important these things are to

humans in these modern times. It is used to make iron beams that are used in the

construction of buildings. We also know how important agriculture is to our

survival and virtually all the equipments that are used in farming are made from

iron which ultimately makes life easier for us.

Another essential metal to humans in todays society is copper. Firstly on a

biological aspect it is an element that is very important for our good health.To

begin with, copper is a major component of the oxygen carrying part of blood

cells. Copper also helps protect our cells from being damaged by certain

chemicals in our bodies.This important element is also required by the brain to

form chemicals that keep us awake and alert. Copper also helps your body

produce chemicals that regulate blood pressure, pulse, and healing.

Physically, it is a ductile metal, with very high thermal and electrical

conductivity. This property of copper is what makes it is so useful and vital in

making things we require in our everyday lives.One of the most vital necessities

today is electricity. We all depend on it for numerous reasons such as for lighting

in our homes, in businesses, communication, entertainment, and the list goes on.

In saying this, we should know that all electrical power production and

distribution uses copper to transfer electric current right through the various

mediums. This is done throughout the world via generators, transformers, power

lines, nuclear reactors, pipelines etc. Another important factor to know about

copper is that, it is an extremely good conductor of heat. This is the reason why it

is used to make cooking utensils such as fry pans, knives forks, etc.Computers and

other electronic devices that require conductors such as TV, radio, stereo,

calculators, security devices, etc, also use copper in their production process.

Thirdly another very important metal would be aluminum.Aluminum is

remarkable for its low density and for its ability to resist corrosion due to the

phenomenon of passivation. Aluminum is used in alloys in the manufacture of

different parts of ships and aero planes and different heavy machinery.Aluminum

alloys form vital components of aircraft and rockets as a result of their high

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strength-to-weight ratio. It also forms alloys with many elements such as copper,

zinc, magnesium, etc to make things that we need in our daily lives.It is used in

food processing and preservation. Microwaves and conventional ovens,

refrigerators and freezers also require aluminum as an important element in their

manufacture. Communications including satellites,antennas, space crafts, and

other communications devices also utilizes aluminum as their primary component

.Therefore it is now seen the importance of this metal in these modern times and

how it makes life easier for humans.

References

"The Role of Elements in Life Processes | Mineral Information Institute."Welcome - Mineral Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2011..

"Periodic Table of Elements and Chemistry." Periodic Table of Elements andChemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. .

"Wikipedia." Wikipedia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2011..