Transport and technology
Transport and technology
Minerals play a role in modern technology.
Look at your computer. Is it working properly? Yes, well you can thank minerals for that!
There are lots of places you can find minerals in technology.
Find out more about the minerals you can find in transport and technology
Building a car
Many minerals are needed to make a car. Iron is used to make steel. It makes up the bulk of the car, and comes from minerals like magnetite and hematite.
Bumpers, badges, and door handles are often coated in chromium to prevent them rusting - this comes from the mineral chromite.
Magnetite, hematite and chromite are used to make the metal parts of cars
Minerals used to make cars
Cars are made from many different minerals. Their steel body is made from the iron-rich minerals like magnetite and hematite. Door handles and badges are often coated in chromium which comes from the mineral chromite.
Properties of steel:
- strong
- rigid
- hard
Cars: starting and stopping
Up until recently, lead was added to the petrol used to power car engines. Galena is the main ore of lead, but because we now know lead is quite poisonous, we do not use it much any more.
Car brakes can be made from asbestos minerals. But we now know that asbestos is bad for us well. Researchers are working on a replacement for asbestos in brake pads and other fixtures.
Galena and serpentine are not used anymore as lead and asbestos are not added to petrol or used to make brakes
Minerals used to make cars
Lead used to be added to petrol. It comes from the mineral galena. Asbestos is used to make car brakes. Both lead and asbestos are known to be bad for our health, so we try not to use them much nowadays.
Properties of asbestos:
- flexible
- durable
- non-flammable
Aeroplanes
Two metals, aluminium and titanium, are used a lot in aeroplanes because they are lightweight and strong. Aluminium comes from a material called bauxite. Titanium comes from minerals called rutile and ilmenite.
Titanium is also important in space flight, as it is used a lot in the manufacture of space shuttles.
Bauxite, ilmenite and rutile are used to make the metal parts of aeroplanes
Minerals used to make aeroplanes
Aeroplanes and spacecraft are made of aluminium and titanium. Aluminium comes from a material called bauxite. Titanium comes from the minerals rutile and ilmenite.
Properties of aluminium and titanium:
- strong
- lightweight
- tigid
Electronics
Gold is used in electronics. It conducts electricity very well and is very flexible, twisting easily into fine wires. It is used to make electronic circuit boards and other components.
Mica is also used in electronics. Muscovite mica is used to make electrical capacitors and high temperature insulators.
Silver, garnierite, and pentlandite are used to make film and batteries
Minerals used in electronics
Gold is used in electronics because it conducts electricity. Mica is used because it does not conduct electricity.
Properties of gold:
- conducts electricity
- does not rust
- is flexible - can be twisted into wires
Properties of mica:
- does not conduct electricity
- has a high melting point
Computers
Modern computers rely on the silicon chip to process information. The mineral quartz contains silicon, and is of great importance in electronics.
You may not see the inside of a computer, but the screen you are now staring at is made of quartz as well. Glass is made from quartz sand.
Quartz
Quartz contains silicon and is used to make the silicon chips inside computers. It is also used to make the glass in computer screens.
Properties of quartz:
- hard
- rigid
- impermeable
- transparent (see-through)
