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Copper (Cu)
Copper (Cu)
Element 29 on the periodic table. A soft, easily bent metal belonging to the transition metals.
It is a very good conductor of electricity and heat. Copper occurs by itself as an orange metal called native copper.
Native copper was the first metal people made things from. Records of its use go back over 10,000 years, when it began to replace stone. About 5,500 years ago it was alloyed with tin to make bronze. The name copper is a form of the Roman name for Cyprus, the island where the ancient Romans got most of their copper.
Today copper mainly goes into electric cables and alloys with other metals to make bronze, brass (with zinc), or nickel silver (with zinc and nickel – no silver is used at all). It is also widely used for coins.
Copper does not
corrode easily except
to produce a thin green protective coat
of copper carbonate. As a result, it can be a
 Copper – This is native copper together with quartz crystals. Miners would call the quartz ‘gangue’, meaning a material of no value that is mined together with the metal.
 Copper – Copper ores can be mined with as little as about one-half of 1% copper content. This picture from Arizona shows one of the world’s most important copper mines.
roofing material.
 Copper – Copper is used for the cladding on the Statue of Liberty because of both its attractive colour and its longevity against corrosion.
 Copper – Copper is also used for water-carrying pipework because it will not corrode in the presence of water.
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