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Chemistry question on aluminum

Hi,
I am not sure if I am getting paranoia about this...

Nowadays, there are many equipment (amps, speakers, etc) that are made from aluminum; from a slab, ingot, extruded and other processes. And I am a sucker for the raw industrial silvery color Aluminum looks. I just dig them. (Think YG acoustics, Audiomachina, Modwright, Jeff Rowland, Acoustic Signature TT, et al)

But I live in the hot and humid tropics. A friend, knowing that I failed Chemistry in school, put a scary thought in me that white powdery substance will form and corrode them in the long run.

Anyone care to give me a Chemistry 101 lesson on this with respect to Audio equipment?

Thanks.
hamburger
brf
1,699 posts
 
Most aluminum products are clear coated or anodized to prevent oxidation. i.e. Rowland as an example. If you look at a car aluminum wheel, the are all anodized.
drrsutliff
299 posts
 
Aluminum reacts with oxygen to form aluminum oxide. This oxide will completely cover the surface between the raw aluminum and the atmosphere and prevent any additional reaction with oxygen. The layer formed is about 3 to 4 nanometers in thickness. The process of anodizing aluminum actually increases the thickness of this layer and makes it harder.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Far more manufacturers using aluminium chasis. Most of heatsinks are aluminium. The lifespan of aluminium chassis is far larger than human lifespan so nothing and nothing to scratch your head about in any case. Raw aluminium can be toxic if digested so it's not recommended to cook a food on untreated aluminium. Other than that there's no toxines getting airborn off the aluminiumn surface.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Raw aluminum in salt air, (tropical island, coastal areas) will corrode and be damaged. it will continue to get worse.
IE it does not form a thin layer, but more like rust on iron, continues to penetrate the surface to depth.
Anodizing helps, and for most environments will prevent corrosion. However in a very salty air humid environment the corrosion will still take place eventually unless the surface is kept polished with a coating of wax.
In most non-salt air places, the corrosion forms only a thin layer and stops.
Aluminum wheels in Northern areas where salt is placed on the road suffer the same, unless covered with a good layer of clearcoat.
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