copper
Sign in to saveCopper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) 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.
AI overview
Copper is a soft, pinkish-orange metal that conducts heat and electricity exceptionally well, making it ideal for electrical wiring and thermal applications. It's also valued as a building material and for creating useful metal alloys used in jewelry, coins, marine equipment, and temperature-measuring instruments.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Chemical data
- Formula
- Cu
- Molecular weight
- 63.55 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- copper
via PubChem
Article
47 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Characteristics
- Physical
- Chemical
- Isotopes
- Occurrence
- Production
- Reserves and prices
- Copper demand
- Extraction<span class="anchor" id="Methods"></span>
- Recycling
- Environmental impacts
- Alloys
- Compounds
- Binary compounds
- Coordination chemistry
- Organocopper chemistry
- Copper(III) and copper(IV)
- Biological role
- Biochemistry
- Nutrition
- Absorption and regulation
- Dietary recommendations
- Deficiency
- Toxicity
- Bioleaching
- Human exposure
- History
- Prehistoric
- Copper Age
- Bronze Age
- Ancient and post-classical
- Modern
- Applications
- Wire and cable
- Electronics and related devices
- Electric motors
- Architecture
- Antibiofouling
- Antimicrobial
- Fungicide
- Folk medicine
- See also
- References
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) 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 . Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, ; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, ; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, .