The electrical conductivity of copper. Copper: feature

The Electrical conductivity of copper depends on the availability at the various metal impurities. Even if adding small amounts of arsenic, antimony are carved drop in the electrical conductivity. But has no significant influence on the physical amount of lead, tellurium, selenium and arsenic.

Concepts

The Electrical conductivity of copper is slightly less than the silver, which makes this metal in demand in modern electrical engineering.

This physical quantity is a characteristic of a material's ability to conduct electrical current. It is associated with a specific electrical resistance of metals is directly proportional to the dependency.

The Electrical resistance of copper in Ohms⋅mm²/m is at a temperature of 20 degrees 0,017. According to the numerical value is only slightly less than that of silver.

The Electrical conductivity of copper is the reciprocal of resistance, is used to characterize the electrical properties of this metal. To measure the use of Siemens, corresponding to 1/Ω.

Getting copper

Because copper conducts electricity, there are several methods for producing this metal. Semiconductor copper is currently produced in galvanic cleaning of ingots in a special electrolytic baths. A large part of the copper products used in electrical industry, made by rolling, drawing, pressing.

While drawing to create a wire having a diameter of not more than 0.005 mm, a thin foil tape of 0.1 mm.

Copper wiring is demanded not only in the construction of apartment houses and office buildings but also in private construction.

Interesting information

This metal is often found in nature as large nuggets. Even in ancient times people made of it jewelry, dishes, weapons. The demand for copper is due to the ease of its processing, as well as prevalence in nature.

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Initially, the process of extracting metal from its compounds were quite primitive, and consisted in heating the copper ore over the fire, the subsequent sharp cooling. This treatment resulted in cracking of the pieces of ore that allowed people to extract the metal itself.

With the improvement of technological processes of processing of metal ores in campfires began to apply air to raise the temperature of a heating nature. Gradually the process began to be implemented in special designs, which became the prototype of the modern shaft furnaces.

The Results of archaeological excavations indicate that copper products were used already in the 10th Millennium BC.

Natural compounds

Copper wire for wiring is currently made of several types of ores are distributed in nature. For example, in the composition of bornite is about 65 percent metal, chalcocite – up to 80 %, and in copper-pyrite (chalcopyrite) copper metal does not exceed 30 percent.

Physical properties

The High electrical conductivity of copper is one of the most important properties of this metal. Its color varies from pale pink to deep red. Copper is a transition material having high thermal and electrical conductivity.

The Linear thermal expansion of this metal is 0,00000017 units. Copper products have a tensile strength of 22 kg⋅s/mm². The specific gravity of the metal of 8.94 g/cm³, the hardness on the Brinell scale - 35 kgf/mm². Among the important physical characteristics of this metal, it should be noted the modulus of elasticity amounting to 132 000 mn/m².

Are Unique and magnetic properties of this metal, which is completely diamagnetic substance.

Temperature coefficient of resistance of copper at room temperature is 4.3 α (10^-3/K).

Conductivity, malleability has made this metal popular in the manufacture of various items for the electrical industry. Similar physical characteristics of aluminum, it is a raw material for the creation of cables, wires in modern electrical production.

Chemical properties

Resistance of copper, the ability of this metal to conduct electricity due to the peculiarities of the structure of an atom of the chemical element. The copper is located in a side subgroup of the first group of the periodic table, is a d-element.

Resistance of copper is associated with electrons located on the outer energy level. Features of the structure and explain the specifics of the chemical properties of this metal. With little humidity copper is a rather inert substance, shows high chemical activity.

When operating copper products in conditions of high humidity and the presence of carbon dioxide the oxidation of the metal.

On the surface appears greenish film of carbonate and hydroxide of copper (2), and a variety of sulfur compounds. This film is called patina, and it helps protect the product from the subsequent chemical destruction.

At higher temperatures the formation of copper scale (oxide), which adversely affects the electrical conductivity.

Copper easily interacts with elements related to a subgroup of Halogens.

If you make the metal steams of sulphur, there is a fire. Copper is inert to nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon even at elevated temperature values.

Interest from a technical point of view is the interaction of this metal with salts of iron, leading to his recovery. This chemical property allows you to remove products with copper-plating.

Copper forms a variety of complex compounds that are highly resistant.

Region

The Use of this metal due to its high electrical conductivity. For example, it releases the cable. Copper has a low resistance and unique magnetic properties, easy machinability, so in demand in engineering services and administrative buildings. The ability to conduct heat allows to use this material to create heat pipes, cooling systems and heating of air.

Copper & ndash; material, which is indispensable in the manufacture of coolers used to lower the temperature of personal computers. Metal structures that contain copper elements have a low weight, excellent decorative properties and are therefore suitable for application in architecture, and for the manufacture of a variety of decorative elements in the interior, and for making electric wires.

Conductors

In order to understand the electrical conduction and discuss the characteristics of the conductors. These include materials capable of conducting electric current. Copper refers to the conductors of the first kind, since with increasing temperature there is a decrease in electrical conductivity. The quality of conductor material affect mechanical, thermal, electrical properties. For such a metal as copper, all of these parameters have good values that makes the metal in demand in various fields of electrical engineering.

The Plasticity of copper, easy processing, good toughness, chemical resistance make this metal different kinds of products for technical purposes.

Varieties

For the manufacture of blister copper used electrolytic recovery of metal from a solution of copper sulphate. The pure metal is required for radio - and electrical engineering. Depending on the percentage content of impurities, secrete brands: M0 and M1. In the first case, the quantity of pure metal is 99.95%, for the second option – 99.9 per cent.

Among the main physical properties that characterize data of the copper grade, note:

• Density 8900 kg/m³;
• Melting point 1083 °C;
• High mechanical strength;
• Excellent machinability;
• High resistivity 1,7241⋅10^-8 Ohm⋅.

With the introduction of the impurities of the clean metal substantially increases the value of resistivity, this reduces electrical conductivity.

For Example, in the case of the introduction of 0.5% of aluminium and of Nickel the resistivity increases by 40 percent.

Conclusion

Copper is different from the other current conductors of high electrical conductivity, low resistance, making it popular in modern electrical production.

Conductive conductor core, cables, foil getinaks for printing devices, sheets, strips, wire - this is not a complete list of the products that are created from copper.

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