aluminum oxide
- noun
- /əˈluː.mɪ.nəm ˈaɪ.ɒk.saɪd/
- Specialized
- With this kit, step one is a gentle exfoliator that evens out skin tone and reduces fine lines with aluminum oxide crystals.
- aluminum oxide crystals
- aluminum oxide particles
Examples
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A common aluminum oxide abrasive blade will do the trick.
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A large amount of the aluminium oxide produced is then subsequently smelted in the Hall-Héroult process in order to produce aluminium.
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The byproduct is aluminum oxide, which is then recycled back into aluminum.
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The aluminum oxide must be purified before it can be refined to aluminum metal.
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This converts the aluminium oxide in the ore to sodium aluminate, NaAl(OH)4, according to the chemical equation:
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The majority of these machines use a stream of tiny crystals of aluminum oxide to remove the top layer of the epidermis.
Synonyms
A hard white material used to make ceramics, glass and aluminum
A very hard mineral used to make rubies, sapphires and things like sandpaper
A very hard mineral used for cutting and grinding and as gems like ruby and sapphire
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'aluminum' (the metal) and 'oxide' (a compound with oxygen) can infer 'aluminum oxide' as the oxide of aluminum. This follows standard chemical noun-noun compound formation and is cross-linguistically transparent, so the overall sense is predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Aluminum oxide describes tiny bits of aluminum joined with oxide, meaning oxygen, to make a very hard white material that appears in sandpaper and in gemstones like rubies and sapphires. So, the name literally means 'aluminum combined with oxygen', which is why it refers to this tough, useful material.