What Happens When You Press Aluminum As Hard As Possible?

I`m sure you`ve all seen those videos of a really strong hydraulic press putting its weight on things and making them smaller. This week, it`s time to press aluminum foil into a completely solid piece! Now, to get this done you will need one extra-strong hydraulic press, a ball of aluminum foil and a lot of button-pushing patience. First, take some foil and make a huge ball of aluminum. Next, take that ball and throw it in the press and push the button so that it starts compressing. Grab your popcorn and watch the thing make a little aluminum leaf out of the ball.

What Happens When You Press Aluminum 2

However, when you take that foil out you will still need to press it a few more times to make this effective! After you take it out, knock the resulting metal leaf a few times to see how solid it is. Chances are, you`re going to press aluminum even more today. If you can bend the thing in half, do it and put it back under the press. Stand back, grab your popcorn and your cool guy sunglasses and press the button – the press will descend on that little bit of metal without any hesitation.



When it starts knocking, lift the press up and see if you can bend the thing again. If you can`t, use a hammer and bend it one more time, and then throw it under the press. Do this until you can no longer bend the aluminum foil because it has now merged into one big solid piece of metal. When that happens, hold it perpendicular to the press and see what happens – it will become even stronger!

Now, check out how fine aluminum wheels are done!