Regular old aluminum is an abundant metal with all the expected properties ... and nitrogen and known by the chemical formula AlON. Aluminum oxynitride ceramics have been around since the 1980s ...

What if the metal in question is aluminum? [George Graves] sends us a link to a forum discussion on the subject from a few years ago, and to a YouTube video which we’ve embedded below the break.

Copper atoms are larger than aluminum atoms. There are fewer copper atoms than aluminum atoms in the cubes. Copper atoms are much more massive than aluminum atoms. The extra mass makes copper more ...