Dr Nick Welham of Murdoch University presented a talk entitled “Aluminium through the Looking Glass - History, Production, Properties and Uses” at the Nagle Catholic College Campus in Geraldton on 7th September 2006. This marked the first time the CSRP-Murdoch alliance has reached out to teachers and students in the Mid West region of WA. Some 135 Year 11 & 12 students from Geraldton Senior College, Geraldton Grammar School, Strathalbyn Christian College and host Nagle Catholic College attended the talk.
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Dr Welham discussed the history of aluminium highlighting the difficulty the purification of the metal presented to early chemists. Dr Dan Churach assisted with a series of experiments that demonstrated the reactivity of the metal once its protective coating of aluminium oxide is removed. The talk explored the chemistry involved with both the Bayer process of refining alumina and the Hall-Heroult process used to electrowin aluminium and related these processes to the Western Australia curriculum.
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