Here are 8 things you also may not know about this beautiful metal (source LiveScience):
- Copper has been mined and used for over 5,000 years.
- The word copper and chemical symbol for the element, Cu, come from the Latin word cuprum after the Greek word for the island of Cyprus.
- Copper is second only to silver in electrical conductivity abilities.
- Copper is typically used in electrical wiring and residential plumbing.
- Copper is also mixed into the paint used on the underside of ships to prevent seaweed, algae and barnacles from sticking to the vessel.
- Copper is also used to create brass or bronze alloys. Brass, a mixture of copper and zinc, bronze is copper and tin.
- Copper is commercially available at a purity of 99.999+ percent.
- Copper ore deposits are found in the United States, Chile, Zambia, Zaire, Peru and Canada.