Copper

Extracted Attributes

• Color

  Pinkish-orange (freshly exposed)

• Atomic Number

  29

• Classification

  Transition metal; Native metal

• Chemical Symbol

  Cu

• Stable Isotopes

  Copper-63 (69.15%) and Copper-65 (30.85%)

• Crustal Abundance

  50 parts per million (ppm)

• Primary Applications

  Electrical wiring, plumbing, telecommunications, clean energy technology

• Human Biological Concentration

  1.4 to 2.1 mg per kilogram of body weight

Timeline

• Neolithic humans begin using native copper as a substitute for stone. (Source: Britannica)

  -8000-01-01

• Copper becomes the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores. (Source: Wikipedia)

  -5000-01-01

• Metallurgy advances in Mesopotamia as copper is first cast into shapes using molds. (Source: Britannica)

  -4000-01-01

• Copper is intentionally alloyed with tin to create bronze, marking the start of the Bronze Age. (Source: Wikipedia)

  -3500-01-01

• The largest mass of elemental copper (420 tonnes) is discovered on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, US. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1857-01-01

• Copper is predicted to be a major business winner and top-performing asset due to industrial and technological demand. (Source: Document 5bce0809-68e1-42ae-bd57-caef72a9db47)

  2026-01-01

Copper

Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. Copper is one of the few native metals, meaning metals that occur naturally in a directly usable, unalloyed metallic form. This led to very early human use in several regions, from c. 8000 BC. Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, c. 5000 BC; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC. Commonly encountered compounds are copper(II) salts, which often impart blue or green colors to such minerals as azurite, malachite, and turquoise, and have been used widely and historically as pigments. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green patina of compounds called verdigris. Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as bacteriostatic agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all aerobic organisms. It is particularly associated with oxygen metabolism. For example, it is found in the respiratory enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase, in the oxygen carrying hemocyanin, and in several hydroxylases. Adult humans contain between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight.

Web Search Results

• Copper - Wikipedia

  Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color "Copper (color)"). Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. [...] Copper is one of the few native metals, meaning metals that occur naturally in a directly usable, unalloyed metallic form. This led to very early human use in several regions, from c. 8000 BC. Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, c. 5000 BC; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC. Commonly encountered compounds are copper(II) salts, which often impart blue or green colors to such minerals as azurite, malachite, and turquoise, and have been used widely and historically as pigments. [...] Copper is produced in massive stars and is present in the Earth's crust in a proportion of about 50 parts per million (ppm). In nature, copper occurs in a variety of minerals, including native copper, copper sulfides such as chalcopyrite, bornite, digenite, covellite, and chalcocite, copper sulfosalts such as tetrahedite-tennantite, and enargite, copper carbonates such as azurite and malachite, and as copper(I) or copper(II) oxides such as cuprite and tenorite, respectively. The largest mass of elemental copper yet discovered weighed 420 tonnes and was found in 1857 on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, US. Native copper is a polycrystal, with the largest single crystal ever described measuring 4.4 × 3.2 × 3.2 cm. Copper is the 26th most abundant element in Earth's crust, representing 50

• Copper | Uses, Properties, & Facts - Britannica

  copper (Cu), chemical element, a reddish, extremely ductile metal of Group 11 (Ib) of the periodic table that is an unusually good conductor of electricity and heat. Copper is found in the free metallic state in nature. This native copper was first used (c. 8000 bce) as a substitute for stone by Neolithic (New Stone Age) humans. Metallurgy dawned in Mesopotamia as copper was cast to shape in molds (c. 4000 bce), was reduced to metal from ores with fire and charcoal, and was intentionally alloyed with tin as bronze (c. 3500 bce). The Roman supply of copper came almost entirely from Cyprus. It was known as aes Cyprium, “metal of Cyprus,” shortened to cyprium and later corrupted to cuprum. See also bronze. Element Properties [...] Copper is commercially produced mainly by smelting or leaching, usually followed by electrodeposition from sulfate solutions. For a detailed treatment of the production of copper, see copper processing. The major portion of copper produced in the world is used by the electrical industries; most of the remainder is combined with other metals to form alloys. (It is also technologically important as an electroplated coating.) Important series of alloys in which copper is the chief constituent are brasses (copper and zinc), bronzes (copper and tin), and nickel silvers (copper, zinc, and nickel, no silver). There are many useful alloys of copper and nickel, including Monel; the two metals are completely miscible. Copper also forms an important series of alloys with aluminum, called aluminum [...] Copper is one of the most ductile metals, not especially strong or hard. Strength and hardness are appreciably increased by cold-working because of the formation of elongated crystals of the same face-centred cubic structure that is present in the softer annealed copper. Common gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide are soluble in molten copper and greatly affect the mechanical and electrical properties of the solidified metal. The pure metal is second only to silver in thermal and electrical conductivity. Natural copper is a mixture of two stable isotopes: copper-63 (69.15 percent) and copper-65 (30.85 percent). Key People: : Marcus Daly : William E. Dodge : James Douglas : Sir Chester Beatty : Johan Gottlieb Gahn

• Copper: Element Properties and Uses - Stanford Advanced Materials

  Copper is essential in electrical transmission and telecommunications. Copper wires and cables are widely used in electric circuits, power transmission lines, and networking systems. It is used in the production of electronic circuits, mainly in printed circuit boards. Its high conductivity ensures that the performance of electronic devices is efficient. Examples of such alloys include brass (copper and zinc) and bronze (copper and tin), used in the manufacture of parts that require strength, durability, and resistance to corrosion. Applications vary widely-from art, housing, and household artifacts to bridges, ships, and musical instruments. [...] + About Us + Contact Us + Customer Support + Product Brochures + Current Promotions + Customized Services + Packaging Solutions + Materials Testing + Sustainability & Carbon Reduction + Exhibitions + Write for Us GET A QUOTE - Home - Periodic Table View - Copper: Element Properties and Uses # Copper: Element Properties and Uses Last updated on {{lastDate}} ## Description Copper is a reddish-brown, very conductive metal used widely in various industries of electronics, construction, and manufacturing, with applications mostly stemming from electrical wiring, plumbing, and multiple alloys. ## Chemical Properties of Copper [...] ## Chemical Properties of Copper Copper is renowned for the great number and variety of its chemical compounds, such as CuO (copper(II) oxide), CuSO₄ (copper(II) sulfate), and CuCl (copper(I) chloride). Patina, which is a greenish layer formed on copper and its alloys, starting when the metal is exposed to air, is especially resistant to corrosion. This kind of patina protects a layer of metal beneath it from further destruction.

• Fundamentals: Types of Copper and Properties - Copper.org

  Good resistance to corrosion, good electrical and thermal conductivity, ease of fabrication coupled with strength and resistance to fatigue are criteria by which copper or one of its alloys is selected. Corrosion Resistance: Copper is a noble metal able to resist attack quite well under most corrosive environmental conditions. In the presence of moisture, salt and high sulfur pollution, copper quickly begins to oxidize and progress through the weathering cycle. Its high resistance to corrosion is due to its ability to react to its environment and reach weathering equilibrium. [...] Electrical and Thermal Conductivity: Copper and its alloys are excellent conductors of electricity and heat. In fact, copper is used for these purposes more often than any other metal. Alloying invariably decreases electrical conductivity and to a lesser extent, thermal conductivity. Coppers and high-copper alloys are preferred over copper alloys containing more than a few percent total alloy content when high electrical or thermal conductivity is required. Ease of Fabrication: Copper and its alloys are generally capable of being shaped to the required form and dimensions by any of the common fabricating processes. They are routinely rolled, stamped, drawn and headed cold; they are rolled, extruded, forged and formed at elevated temperature.

• Copper facts - Natural Resources Canada

  ## Language selection ## Language selection Françaisfr / Gouvernement du Canada ## Search # Copper facts Copper is a soft and malleable metal that is used in: electrical wires and cables for its conductivity plumbing, industrial machinery, and construction materials for its durability, machinability and resistance to corrosion emerging clean technologies, such as solar cells and electric vehicles ## Key facts

• Instance Of

  Q4167410