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Asmaul Husna

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Use of Mineral in Daily Life

What is a mineral? Mineral is any naturally formed, inorganic solid, that has a specific chemical composition and distinct crystal structure. To be a mineral, a substance must meet five requirements. A mineral is naturally formed and inorganic. On top of that, a mineral must be has specific chemical composition. This means that mineral must be either chemical element or they must be chemical compounds containing atoms in specific ratio formula. Besides that, a mineral has a characteristic crystalline structure. Over 3000 types of mineral have been identified by the geologist. Just want you to know, there are mineral that very useful to our daily life.

Based on current consumption, it is estimated that you and every other person in the world will use more than a million of rocks, minerals and metal during your lifetime. As the example, we use over 800 pounds of lead that is primarily used in the construction of batteries. Also used as a radiation shielding during x-ray treatment by your doctor and dentist and as a protective shield on your TV screen to protect you from radiation from that source. Also, we use over 2728,000 pounds of salt that are use in food preservation as the result of almost all canned and frozen food contain salt. Moreover, to enhance the taste of foods and to melt the ice on streets and highways during the winter. Also used in the manufacture of many chemicals, for water treatment, papermaking, soaps and detergents and in petroleum refining.

Aluminum is the most abundant metal element in the Earth’s crust. Bauxite ore is the main source of aluminum and is imported from Guinea, Australia, and, Jamaica. Aluminum is mainly used in making cans and other containers .On top of that, it is also used in the manufacture of lightweight parts for automobiles and airplanes. Besides that, it is used in building construction and in almost every modern appliance found in the home. It is also the active ingredient in many underarm deodorants. Next, is halite. Commonly recognized as salt, halite is used in human and animal diet. We often use halite as food seasoning and food preservation. Food become tasteless if do not use halite. In addition, it is used to make sodium hydroxide, soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, and metallic sodium.

Next mineral that often we use is copper. Copper is often used in electric cables and wires. It is also used in building construction. In addition, copper is use in switches, plumbing, heating and electrical and electronic components. There are also widely used in electrical and electronic appliances. As example, is water heater, water cooler and iron. In industrial sides, copper also used in industrial machinery and equipment, and also have been used for making coins, and jewelry. Leading producers are Chile and United States. On top of that, zinc is one of common mineral use in dailylife. One of the primary uses of zinc is as a protective coating on steel used to manufacture things such as automobile frames and bumpers. This is because to prevent corrosion and oxidation or rusting. It is also used as an alloy metal with copper to make brass, and for galvanizing iron used in making nails and roofing material that will not corrode when exposed to the weather.

My next view is iron or ferum. Almost all of the things in our daily life are surrounding by iron. The formation of iron from two main mineral that are hematite and magnetite. A primary ore of iron. Hematite is processed to produce iron which is used to make steel that is used in everything from automobiles to flatware to the machinery used to make almost everything else we use. Many different minerals can be combined with iron in producing steel. Each provides a different set of valuable properties to the finished product. A familiar example is stainless steel. Steel is used in the manufacture of such things as kitchen appliances, furniture, tools, bridges, buildings, automobiles, construction equipment, manufacturing machinery, highway construction, shipbuilding, trains, and railroads. Can you imagine life would be like without steel. The other primary ore of iron is magnetite. Magnetite is often used in making steel, nails, kitchen appliances, furniture, tools, bridges, buildings, automobiles, construction equipment, manufacturing machinery, highway construction, shipbuilding, trains, and railroads. If is also used as the production of magnetic materials. The update information, it is also used as magnetic bracelet as a medical purposes. As we conclude, hematite and magnetite is very important to our daily life.

Next is the mineral that we used as jewelry. First is gold. Gold is used in dentistry as the production of gold tooth. It is commonly used in jewelry. At this stage, gold has become very expensive. For economics sides, gold has become an asset of the country. It is also used in the production of medallions and coins. Also, it is used in intricate circuitry for scientific and electronic instruments such as computers. It is also used in the electroplating industry. Second is silver. Silver is used in photography. In chemistry, Silver or argentums is used in electrical and electronic products because of its very high conductivity. It is also used in sterling silverware, electroplated ware, jewelry and coins. Next is diamond. One of the native elements. The diamond is the hardest mineral that is measured in Moh’s Scale Hardness as 10. It is used as the gem. This is because, diamond has high refractive index and as the beautiful shiny preferences. As but not least is corundum. Corundum or the common name is ruby, also used as the production of the gem.

There are also many types of mineral that we use every day. Fluorite is used in the production of hydrofluoric acid and the source of the fluoride in our favorite toothpaste. Lime stone is used as dimension stone in buildings and as a component of cement which is used in the construction of everything from homes and sidewalks to bridges and skyscrapers. Lithium as the one of the substance in batteries. Sulphur as the fertilizer. We can conclude, our life is surrounding by the minerals.

As the conclusion, I hope we can preserve and conserved our earth from pollution as the result that we can save the production of minerals. Then, use mineral wisely and deliberately. Minerals are important to our life. Can you imagine life without minerals? Think twice.

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