Re: How is tin foil made

Diane,

By "tin foil", I assume you are referring to aluminum foil which is used in every home in America. Here's an Encarta link all about the properties of aluminum: http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=05CFA000

Until the late 1880's aluminum was considered a precious metal and was very expensive to produce. An aluminum pyramid was even placed on top of the Washington Monument as a testament to the prosperity of the USA. The Hall-HÈroult process revolutionized the world with low-cost aluminum which has enabled us to lay high-tension power lines and produce a whole range of light weight vehicles. With regards to the foil, aluminum ingots are pressed into sheets and pushed through heavy rollers to thin out the sheets and turned onto rolls. Rolling the metal causes it to harden, so sometimes the metal is heated to soften it, then rolled again until the desired thickness is reached.