[bliteben]

Almost all metals oxidize. You could build something out of gold or maybe platinum and avoid oxidation, but it would obviously be expensive. The U.S. navy does have some very large aluminum ships such as the Independence Class[1]. These ships are apparently having some teething issues, but it is quite the feat to have a 414 ft long aluminum ship that can go upwards of 50 knots.

[1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence-class_littoral_co...

[ElectricalUnion]

> Almost all metals oxidize.

> The U.S. navy does have some very large aluminum ships

Unfortunately aluminum also rusts, it just happens to be a chemically stable and resistant rusting - but not in a stable enough manner to be mechanically/abrasive resistant, that's why you don't see them deployed in widespread use at stressing conditions like internal combustion engine blocks or fast ship hulls.

From said cited Wikipedia article:

> In February 2020 it was announced that the Navy plans to retire the first four LCS ships. On 20 June 2020, the US Navy announced that all four would be taken out of commission in March 2021, and will be placed in inactive reserve, because it would be too expensive to upgrade them to match the later ships in the class.

[red369]

Very interesting - I’ve always been confused by why aluminium is often stated as being rust-proof, but doesn’t appear to be as useful in the real world.

Aren’t there quite a few aluminium engine blocks in cars though? For example, the LS small block is now aluminium.

Or do you mean used in marine applications, where rust is an issue? That would probably make more sense (and may actually be implied by the context).

[bliteben]

sorry I annoyed you. I thought I covered both in my post. Feels like you have to walk on egg shells around here least someone correct you.

[kube-system]

> least someone correct you.

lest someone correct you.

...Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[bliteben]

Haha

[kevin_thibedeau]

Those large aluminum ships crack because aluminum has poor fatigue performance when subjected to repeated cycling. Small aluminum boat? You're probably fine for a lifetime. 400ft aluminum boat? Good luck with that.