Copper is a very important element and besides being necessary for proper nutrition, copper is used for many things today because of its unusual properties. Copper annealing makes this metal even more valuable to industry today. Let’s explore some of the many good things about copper and discover why it plays a vital role in the world today.
Malleable
When you are looking for a metal (which is reasonably soft and easy to work with) copper is a good material to choose. If you are trying to work steel, you may need to heat it before pounding it into the needed shapes. Heating is not necessary with copper in many cases.
Ductile
Not all metals can easily be formed into thin shapes or drawn into wire. This is not the case with copper. Although gold has exceptional ductility, there is the cost factor to consider and copper is much cheaper to produce.
Electrical Conduction
Copper is one of the best conductors you can buy, and it is cost effective. This is why billions of copper wires are in service today in all kinds of uses. If you are sitting in a home or office, chances are, many of the things around you at this moment are served by copper wiring.
Copper Annealing
Have you ever wondered why some copper wires are not easy to break? In fact, they are flexible and soft and not brittle like standard copper wiring. In order to make copper softer and less brittle, it undergoes a heat treatment process to enhance copper’s soft properties. This greatly increases the uses for copper in many applications today.
Interesting Things to Know about Copper
Besides being extremely versatile, copper has a rich history. In fact, copper was used by ancient man as far back as the Stone Age. Because of its workability, many excellent tools were made from copper including axes and hammers. It was also used in jewelry and in coinage.
About 5000 years ago, man discovered the benefits of mixing copper with tin and this ushered in the Bronze Age. Since then, many things have been made from bronze including sculptures and cannons for war.
We have so many luxuries in life today, thanks to something as simple as copper and copper annealing. In fact, without this highly versatile metal, most electrical and electronic wonders we have today would not be possible and the world would be a much less interesting and more inconvenient place without it.
