COPPER
A malleable metallic element, noted for its peculiar red color, tenacity, malleability, and electric conductivity.
Etymology: from late Old English coper, from Proto-Germanic *kupar (source also of Middle Dutch koper, Old Norse koparr, Old High German kupfar), from Late Latin cuprum, contraction of Latin Cyprium (aes) “Cyprian (metal),” after Greek Kyprios “Cyprus”.
Ancient Greek had khalkos “ore, copper, bronze;” an old IE word for “ore, copper, bronze” is retained in Sanskrit ayah, Latin aes. Latin aes originally was “copper,” but this was extended to its alloy with tin (bronze), and as this was far more extensively used than pure copper, the word’s primary sense shifted to the alloy and a new word evolved for “copper,” from the Latin form of the name of the island of Cyprus, where copper was mined.
- Symbol: Cu
- Color: reddish orange to pink
- Density: 8.96 g/cm³
- Atomic mass: 63.546
- Atomic number: 29
- Melting point: 1,084.62 °C
Notable properties
- Second most electrically conductive metal after silver.
- Second most thermal conductive metal after silver.
Uses
- Used extensively in electrical applications, copper’s main use worldwide is in electric wires.
- Copper is also used to make water pipes, various metal alloys, pesticides, and dyes.