metals

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Copper is a chemical element with the element symbol Cu and the atomic number 29. It is a transition metal, in the periodic table it is in the 4th period and the 1st subgroup (group 11 according to the new count) or copper group. The Latin name cuprum is derived from (aes) cyprium "ore from the Greek island of Cyprus", where copper was mined in ancient times.

As a relatively soft metal, copper is easy to form and tough. As an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, it is used in a variety of ways. It also belongs to the group of coinage metals.

As an important technology and functional metal, copper is one of the semi-precious metals.

Natural deposits of native copper, that is: in its elemental form, were known long before the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) was founded. Copper is therefore recognized as a so-called grandfathered mineral as an independent mineral species.

Due to its density of 8920 kg/m³, copper is one of the heavy metals. The lattice parameter for pure copper is 0.3615 nm (corresponds to 3.615 Å) with 4 formula units per unit cell.

Copper is a very good conductor of heat. Its melting point is 1083.4 °C. Likewise, copper is a very good electrical conductor with an electrical conductivity of 58 · 106 S/m. Its conductivity is only slightly worse than silver and significantly better than gold. Since all the admixtures dissolved in the copper, especially impurities such as phosphorus and iron, greatly reduce the conductivity, the highest purity grades are often used for conductor materials (Cu-ETP, formerly E-copper, 99.9% purity).