Magnesium & Aluminum

After Sodium come Magnesium, with two electrons in the 3s shell. It wants to give up those two so it can have the same stable electron configuration as Neon. With two electrons to donate it is key to many electrical functions in the body. Magnesium is an Alkaline Earth. It is the 9th most abundant element and is highly reactive with water, forming Magnesium Oxide.

Magnesium hydroxide, better known as Milk of Magnesia or MOM, is used as a laxative. Magnesium ions are sour to the taste and add a natural tartness to fresh mineral waters.



Elemental Magnesium is a light metal and can be combined or alloyed with other metals, frequently aluminum, to increase strength and decrease weight. This makes it useful in high performance automobiles and in other applications where strong light weight components are needed. Magnesium is very flammable and produces a brilliant white light when burned in air. This light can cause permanent eye damage due to the ultraviolet radiation it contains.

Next comes Aluminum, with a full 3s shell and one electron in the 3p orbital. Aluminum is one of the lightest true metals, with excellent electrical conduction properties, often used in electrical circuits where copper is not required. It is also very malleable and is used to create many auto and aircraft parts were reducing weight is important.

Aluminum is the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the third most abundant element overall. It resists corrosion by forming a thin layer of Aluminum Oxide on its surface. It is a non-magnetic, lightweight, ductile (can be easily shaped under pressure) and malleable metal.



Aluminum is used in mirrors as it is highly reflective. It is a good thermal conductor and is used in making beverage containers due to this and its limited reactivity and high malleability. Aluminum is 100% recyclable, meaning it can be purified from recycled waste without any loss of the original metal. It is much easier to recycle than to extract from bauxite, its original source.

Aluminum has no known biological function and is mostly nontoxic. High doses can cause neurotoxicity as it can cross the blood-brain barrier. It is thought it may have some causal relationship with Alzheimer’s but this has not been proven.

Adding small quantities of Magnesium to Aluminum (5% or less) creates an alloy with greater strength, better corrosion resistance and lower density than pure Aluminum. Such an alloy is more workable and easier to weld than pure Aluminum. These alloys are called Magnalium and are used in aircraft and automobile parts. Just as adding one metal (Mg) to another (Al) gives it strength, so should we add God to our lives to give us strength, reading His Word daily. 1 Corinthians 6:17 states "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit (NKJV)." And Psalm 37:39b "The LORD is our strength in times of trouble (NKJV)."