Copper is a material that continues to prove one of the most useful metals to mankind. It was first used widely during the bronze age period and mixed with tin which of course created bronze. It was the first metal ever to be used and worked by humans. People would use it to make weapons, as well as practical household items such as cutlery.
Despite the fact that copper is the oldest metal to have been used by humans, it is still one of the most useful today. One of its main uses is in electrical parts as it is a fantastic conductor of both electricity and heat. There are many uses for copper in construction generally in things like this Watkins and Powis Copper Pipe.
As well as being useful in the construction of our buildings and infrastructure, copper is also essential to the human body. Too much copper can be toxic, but the human body requires a small amount of copper (just over a milligram per day) to keep the cells in the body healthy. Some people have conditions which stop the body absorbing or using copper properly such as Menkes disease.
Although we can find copper in nature, the main way that we get copper is from ore, such as bornite, where it is then extracted using a variety of techniques including smelting. Copper can also be recycled, and it is a very valuable metal – in fact over the last decade or so, metal theft in general has become an increasing problem.
