| Copper |
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| Atomic Number - | 29 | Melting Point (°C,°F) - | 1084.62 °C, 1984.32 °F |
| Atomic Symbol - | Cu | Boiling Point (°C,°F) - | 2562 °C, 4643 °F |
| Atomic Mass - | 63.55 | Electron Configuration - | [Ar] 3d10 4s1 |
| Group - | 11 | Electrons Per Shell - | 2, 8, 18, 1 |
| Period - | 4 | Protons - | 29 |
| Series - | Transition Metals | Neutrons - | 35 |
| Block - | f-block | | |
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Element Description - Copper is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. |
Element Characteristics - Copper is a reddish-colored metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals at room temperature, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity). Copper has its characteristic color because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. Contrast this with the optical properties of silver, gold and aluminium.
Copper is insoluble in water (H2O) as well as isopropanol, or isopropyl alcohol.
There are two stable isotopes, 63Cu and 65Cu, along with a couple of dozen radioisotopes. The vast majority of radioisotopes have half lives on the order of minutes or less; the longest lived, 64Cu, has a half life of 12.7 hours, with two decay modes, leading to two separate products.
There are numerous alloys of copper—speculum metal is a copper/tin alloy, brass is a copper/zinc alloy, and bronze is a copper/tin alloy. Monel metal is a copper/nickel alloy, also called cupronickel. |
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