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| Copper is
an essential trace element that is vital to the
health of all living things |
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The History of Copper |
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Copper is
created in volcanic areas high in concentrations of hot sulfuric
solutions. While copper is found worldwide, 90% of reserves are located in
four areas: the Great Basin of the western United States, Zambia, central
Canada, and the Andes regions of Peru and Chile. Antarctica too has copper
ore deposits in many locations |
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No one knows exactly who discovered copper.
Copper is a metal which has been used by people
since prehistoric times.
Archaeological evidences suggest people who had lived between 5000 BC and
1,200 BC discovered copper.
It
was available in great
quantities and was initially extractable almost at the surface of ground.
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There are many historical evidences
that reveal the people of the ancient world used copper to make jewelry,
utensils, and weapons such as spear tips and shields. |
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Copper is
a ductile metal, with very high thermal and electrical
conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable, and a freshly exposed
surface has a reddish-orange color. |
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Modern Day Uses of Copper |
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There are many industrial uses of
copper, due to its high ductility, malleability, thermal conductivity and
resistance to corrosion. It ranks third after iron and aluminum in the amount of
quantities consumed for industrial purposes. It is alloyed with nickel and used
in form of cupronicklel and monel for shipbuilding. Copper in liquid form
is used as a wood preservative. It helps in restoration of original structures
that are damaged due to dry rot. It is the main component of coins for many
countries |
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About 65% of copper that is produced
is used for electrical applications. The important uses of copper include, use
in power generation and transmission of electricity. It is used in transformers,
motors, busbars, generators, etc., to provide electricity through out the
country, safely and efficiently. In case of electrical equipments, it is used in
wiring and contacts for computers, televisions, mobile
phones and in the circuitry of these and countless other
electronic devices. |
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Integrated
circuits, as well as Printed circuit boards increasingly utilize copper as a
replacement to aluminum because of its superior electrical
conductivity. As a material in the manufacture of computer
heat sinks, as a result of its superior heat dissipation capacity
to
aluminum. Vacuum tubes, cathode ray tubes, and the
magnetrons in microwave ovens use copper, as do wave guides for microwave
radiation.
Wire mesh woven of
commercially pure copper is used in hundreds of applications ranging from
antenna ground planes
to
RFI shielding. |
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Due to its
reported
healing powers Copper has been used extensively in devices known as
"Bio-Circuits" and the
"Eeman General Relaxation Circuit"
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The everyday uses of copper include
doorknobs and other fixtures in the house. Copper uses also include frying pans,
knives, forks and spoons that contain some copper, if they are made from
electroplated Nickel silver. It is also used in copper water heating cylinders,
copper bath tubs, copper sinks and copper counters. Copper in form of metal and
as a pigmented salt is used to make decorative art like statutes and sculptures.
Copper is an essential nutrient to all higher plants and animal life. In animals
and humans it is present in tissues, liver, muscles and bone. The main function
of copper in the body is to act as a co-factor in various enzymes and copper
based pigments. |
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Production of
Copper |
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The copper industry in the United
States has two main segments: producers-mining, smelting, refining companies;
and fabricators-wire mills, brass mills, foundries, powder plants. The end
products of the producers, the most important of which are refined cathode
copper and wire rod, are sold almost entirely to the copper fabricators. The end
products of the fabricators-copper and copper alloy mill and foundry
products-consist of electrical wire, strip, sheet, plate, rod, bar, mechanical
wire, tube, forgings, extrusions, castings, and powder. These products are sold
to a wide variety of users: chiefly the construction industry, manufacturing
industries, and the government. Certain mill products, chiefly wire, cable, and
most tubular products, are used without further metalworking. On the other hand,
most flat-rolled products, rod, bar, mechanical wire, forgings, castings and
powder go through multiple forming, machining, finishing, and assembling
operations before emerging as finished products. |
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