Copper
hideCopper (pronounced /ˈkɒpər/) is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It 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 pinkish or peachy color. It is used as a thermal conductor, an electrical conductor, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys.
Copper metal and alloys have been used for thousands of years. In the Roman era, copper was principally mined on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum. There may be insufficient reserves to sustain current high rates of copper consumption. Some countries, such as Chile and the United States, still have sizable reserves of the metal which are extracted through large open pit mines.
Copper compounds are known in several oxidation states, usually 2+, where they often impart blue or green colors to natural minerals such as turquoise and have been used historically widely as pigments. Copper as both metal and pigmented salt, has a significant presence in decorative art. Copper 2+ ions are soluble in water, where they function at low concentration as bacteriostatic substances and fungicides. For this reason, copper metal can be used as an anti-germ surface that can add to the anti-bacterial and antimicrobial features of buildings such as hospitals. In sufficient amounts, copper salts can be poisonous to higher organisms as well. However, despite universal toxicity at high concentrations, the 2+ copper ion at lower concentrations is an essential trace nutrient to all higher plant and animal life. In animals, including humans, it is found widely in tissues, with concentration in liver, muscle, and bone. It functions as a co-factor in various enzymes and in copper-based pigments.
For more information about Copper, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with copper
Dating the Bronze Age
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 02, 2009 |
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ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) research has shown that an area of desert in north-western China was once a thriving Bronze Age manufacturing and agricultural site. The new findings ...
Will copper keep us safe from the superbugs?
Dec 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Three papers scheduled for publication in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection, published by Elsevier, suggest that copper might have a role in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.
Spinons -- confined like quarks
Nov 29, 2009 |
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The concept of confinement is one of the central ideas in modern physics. The most famous example is that of quarks which bind together to form protons and neutrons. Now Prof. Bella Lake from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Germany) ...
Research sheds light on workings of anti-cancer drug
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Nov 26, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of Wilson disease, a disease caused by an overload of copper, and certain metastatic cancers. ...
Additive copper-zinc interaction affects toxic response in soybean
Nov 10, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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Agricultural soils accumulate trace metals, particularly copper and zinc, as a result of their presence in wastes (sewage biosolids and manures) and fungicides that are applied over long periods of time. Regulations and guidelines ...
Researchers invent new method for graphene growth
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (22) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell research team has invented a simple way to make graphene electrical devices by growing the graphene directly onto a silicon wafer.
Antimicrobials: Silver (and copper) bullets to kill bacteria
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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Dana Filoti of the University of New Hampshire will present thin films of silver and copper she has developed that can kill bacteria and may one day help to cut down on hospital infections. The antimicrobial properties of ...
Computer predicts reactions between molecules and surfaces, with 'chemical precision'
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Nov 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Good news for heterogeneous catalysis and the hydrogen economy: computers can now be used to make accurate predictions of the reactions of (hydrogen) molecules with surfaces. An international team of researchers, headed by ...
Mimicking nature, scientists can now extend redox potentials
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New insight into how nature handles some fundamental processes is guiding researchers in the design of tailor-made proteins for applications such as artificial photosynthetic centers, long-range ...
Powerful laser sheds light on fast ignition and high energy density physics
Nov 02, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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A new generation of high-energy (>kJ) petawatt (HEPW) lasers is being constructed worldwide to study high intensity laser matter interactions, including fast ignition. Fast ignition is a laser-based technique ...
PhD student solves decade-long mystery of magnetism
Oct 27, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (32) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A PhD student from the London Centre for Nanotechnology has won a prize for solving a decade-long mystery central to understanding modern magnetic systems.
Scientists Use Self-Assembly to Make Molecule-Sized Particles With Patches of Charge
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules ...
Brighten up -- it's a new plastic optical fibre technology
Oct 19, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It may look like little more than fishing line, but plastic optical fibre or POF promises to revolutionise high-speed last-mile communications networks. Its evolution is being aided by groundbreaking ...
Trial raises doubts over alternative pain therapy for arthritis
Oct 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps are ineffective in relieving arthritis pain, according to a new study led by a University of York academic.
Graphene: Unravelling the secrets of a magic material
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (12) |
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UCL researchers are helping to unlock the secrets of a material that could ultimately be used in a new generation of electronic devices.
