Aluminium foil

Thin foils are fragile and are sometimes laminated with other materials such as plastics or paper to make them stronger and more useful.

[2] Approximately 75% of aluminium foil is used for packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and 25% is used for industrial applications (e.g., thermal insulation, electrical cables, and electronics).

Tin foil was marketed commercially from the late nineteenth into the early twentieth century.

The plant, owned by J. G. Neher & Sons, the aluminium manufacturers, was founded in 1886 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, at the foot of the Rhine Falls, whose energy powered the process.

In December 1907, Neher's sons, along with Dr. Lauber, had invented the endless rolling process, by which they discovered that aluminium foil could be used as a protective barrier.

[6] The first use of foil in the United States was in 1913 for wrapping Life Savers, candy bars, and gum.

[9] Although aluminium is non-magnetic, it is a good conductor, so even a thin sheet reflects almost all of an incident electric wave.

Aluminium foil is widely sold into the consumer market, often in rolls of 500 mm (20 in) width and several metres in length.