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Copper
Copper (IPA: /ˈkɒpə/) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. more...
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It is a ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity, and finds extensive use as an electrical conductor, thermal conductor, as a building material, and as a component of various alloys.
Copper is an essential nutrient to all higher plants and animals. In animals, it is found primarily in the bloodstream, as a cofactor in various enzymes, and in copper-based pigments. In sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous or even fatal to organisms.
Copper has played a significant part in the history of mankind, which has used the easily accessible uncompounded metal for nearly 10,000 years. Civilizations in places like Iraq, China, Egypt, Greece and the Sumerian cities all have early evidence of using copper, and Britain and the United States also have extensive histories of copper use and mining. During the Roman Empire, copper was principally mined on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as Cyprium, \"metal of Cyprus\", later shortened to Cuprum. A number of countries, such as Chile and the United States, still have sizeable reserves of the metal which are extracted through large open mines. Nevertheless, the price of copper rose rapidly—quintupling from a 60-year low in 1999—largely due to increased demand. This metal has come in to limelight on account of high volatility in prices.
Notable characteristics
Copper is a reddish-colored metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (silver is the only pure metal to have a higher electrical conductivity at room temperature). In oxidation copper is mildly basic. Copper has its characteristic color because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. This can be contrasted with the optical properties of silver, gold and aluminium.
Copper occupies the same family of the periodic table as silver and gold, since they each have one S-orbital electron on top of a filled shell. This similarity in electron structure makes them similar in many characteristics. All have very high thermal and electrical conductivity, and all are malleable metals.
In its liquid state, a clear copper surface without ambient light appears somewhat greenish, another characteristic shared with gold. Silver does not have this property, so it is not a complementary color for the orange incandescence color. When liquid copper is in bright ambient light, it retains some of its pinkish luster. Due to its high surface tension, the liquid metal does not wetten surfaces but instead forms spherical droplets when poured on a surface.
Copper is insoluble in water (H2O) as well as in isopropanol.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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