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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
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
I would be concerned if I lived very close to a beach with salt spray present in the air. Absent salt spray, Drrsutlif's comments are accurate. As far as aluminium and alzheimer's disease, that arose from a finding that amyloid plaque contains elevated levels of aluminum. Current thinking is that this is a coincidental not a causual relationship.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,234 posts
 
Aluminum melts at 1220˚F, so depending on how hot it is where you live there could be concerns. Just something to be equally paranoid about.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Unless your listening room is situated on the face of the planet Mercury, I don't think I'd worry too much about high ambient temps...

-RW-
martykl
3,578 posts
 
I never got my PhD, but I did have a beach house at one point. A quick glimpse at the coated aluminum frames of my deck furniture will confirm that salt air is not good for aluminum.

Marty
csontos
1,311 posts
 
First response is the one that makes practical sense. Would any of you have sympathy for or buy anything from a neglectful lazy pig who after spending good money on gear lets it rot, never paying attention to it's appearance? My goodness! Wipe it off with a damp cloth once in a while, dust it off, don't use it as a coffee table and spill beer on it. Take the same care as anyone anywhere and it'll still look great 20 years later.

Caveat: don't forget to take the lid off and blow it out with compressed air too.
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