c




  



The major applications of copper are in electrical wires (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%) and
industrial machinery (15%). Copper is mostly used as a metal, but when a higher hardness is
required it is combined with other elements to make an alloy (5% of total use) such
as brass and bronze.[15] A small part of copper supply is used in production of compounds for
[28][60]
nutritional supplements and fungicides in agriculture. Machining of copper is possible,
although it is usually necessary to use an alloy for intricate parts to get good machinability
characteristics.



 


 



Copper electrical busbars distributing power to a large building

The electrical properties of copper are exploited in copper wires and devices such
as electromagnets. Integrated circuits and printed circuit boards increasingly feature copper in
place of aluminium because of its superior electrical conductivity; heat sinks and heat
exchangers use copper as a result of its superior heat dissipation capacity to aluminium. Vacuum
tubes, cathode ray tubes, and the magnetrons in microwave ovens use copper, as do wave
guides for microwave radiation



 
Copper roof on the Minneapolis City Hall, coated with patina

Old copper utensils in a Jerusalem restaurant

Because of the waterproof nature of copper, it has been used as the roofing material of many
buildings since ancient times. The green colour on these buildings is due to a long-term chemical
reaction: copper is first oxidised to copper(II) oxide, then to cuprous and cupric sulfide and finally
to copper(II) carbonate, also called verdigris, which is highly corrosion-resistant.[62] The copper
used in this application is phosphorus deoxidized copper (Cu-DHP).[63]Lightning rods use copper
as a means to divert electric current throughout the ground instead of destroying the main
structure.[64] Copper has excellent brazing and soldering properties and can be welded; the best
results are obtained with gas metal arc welding
  
 

Copper has long been used as a biostatic surface to line parts of ships to protect
against barnacles and mussels. It was originally used pure, but has since been superseded
by Muntz metal. Bacteria will not grow on a copper surface because it is biostatic. Similarly, as
discussed in copper alloys in aquaculture, copper alloys have become important netting materials
in the aquaculture industry for the fact that they are antimicrobial and prevent biofouling even in
extreme conditions[68] and have strong structural and corrosion-resistant[69] properties in marine
environments. Copper doorknobs are used by hospitals to reduce the transfer of disease,
and Legionnaires' disease is suppressed by copper tubing in plumbing systems.[70]

¢c
 
c    
     c  



  c
   c   

   


   c c 
 
  c     


Aluminium alloys are used extensively throughout the world, in items such as decorative architectural
applications through fasteners to high strength structural applications. Such a diverse range of application
areas has a similarly diverse range of requirements for materials properties and performanc