chemical paper topic of your choice, something in the Lectures in each module that you found interesting.

Copper (Cu):

“Shiny, reddish copper was the first metal ever manipulated by humans, and it remains an important metal in industry today” (1).

Chemistry:

With an atomic number of 29, Copper (Cu) is a very unique looking metal by appearance. The exterior does hold a “red-orange metallic luster,” and copper is a “soft, malleable, and ductile metal” as well. Basically, as “a freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a reddish orange color” to it, the metal is also utilized as the pure driver to produce heat and electricity. Below is a picture of what copper looks like in its natural state.

To continue being factual, Copper’s atomic number, 29, represents the number of protons in the nucleus. Its atomic weight, which is the average mass of the atom, is 63.55 grams. It has a density of 8.92 grams per cubic centimeter, and clearly, as the picture indicates, copper is solid at room temperature. The pure metal melts at 1,984.32 degrees Fahrenheit and boils at 5,301 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before use, copper “must be smelted for purity,” and most often occurring is ores. De facto of Mother Nature, “natural chemical reactions do sometimes release native copper,” and this enlightens us why humans have been using copper “for at least 8,000 years” to make tools and creating new technologies. Increasing supplies with copper, “people figured out how to smelt copper by about 4500 B.C.” As advancements started happening, copper alloys were made, by adding tin, “people made a harder metal: bronze.”

An intriguing statistic says “about two-thirds of the copper on Earth is found in igneous (volcanic) rocks.” According to the USGS, roughly a quarter of copper is stated in sedimentary rocks. While it is a metal that carries characteristics of being ductile and malleable, this can also explain its use in electronics and wiring.

Copper is known to turn green sometimes; this is a result of an oxidation reaction. This means that it is losing elections when it is vulnerable to air and water. Like stated, “the resulting copper oxide is a dull green.” The reason the Statue of Liberty has a green appearance rather than a red-orange color is from the oxidation reaction that happened to the original copper. In accordance with the Copper Development Association, “a weathered layer of copper oxide only 0.005 inches thick coats Lady Liberty (2).” Take a look below at oxidized copper (3), and an electron configuration for copper to get a more molecular idea (2).

Business:

Currently, copper is listed at $3.04/lb. and equivalently $6,702.93/t. Just trading over $3 a pound, the fine metal “is up close to 28 percent year-to-date and far outperforming its five-year average from 2012 to 2016.” There are many factors that are influencing the price of the metal as we speak. As represented by the purchasing manager’s index (PMI), manufacturing activity is growing at a rate that hasn’t been witnessed in years in the U.S., Eurozone, and China. September of 2017 marked the 100th straight month of expansion, conquering a 13-year high of 60.8. Reflect the graph below to see how copper outperformed its five-year average.

Another belief that is influencing the price of copper is the shortages that are happening in China; despite September 2017, “imports of the metal rising to its highest level since March” 2017. The world’s second-largest economy “took in 1.47 million metrics of copper ore and concentrates” in September 2017 as well, which is an amount that equates to six percent more than the same month in 2016.

Another reason so much copper is entering China is because of battery electric vehicles (BEVs); these demand “three to four times as much copper as traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles.” While China has a tight and the most profitable grasp on the BEV market, according to the Financial Times, Beijing is working on putting a stop and ultimately prohibit the retailing of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Nonetheless, just because of the vertical magnitude of the Chinese market, “this move is sure to delight copper bulls and investors in any metal that’s set to benefit from higher BEV production (4).” 54 percent of all new car transactions by 2040 will be BEVs, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Expectedly, China, Europe, and the U.S. are accounted to make up 60 percent of the worldwide BEV fleet. With the rise in BEV automobiles, this predicts a huge effect on copper prices over the span of the next ten years and more. Take a look at the graph below that charts the driving demand for copper due to electric vehicles in the coming years.

Conclusion:

Since copper occurs directly in nature, this led to very early human use; “it was the first metal to be smelted from its ore, the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, and the first metal to be purposefully alloyed with another metal (2).” The characteristics of this metal made it so versatile for early humans to make tools and get jobs done. It is truly amazing how a metal like copper revolutionized technology for humans and brought so much innovation and opportunities.

As there is a current market for copper today, it is getting traded at just over $3 a pound, and it is used today in electronics and wiring. Also, copper is way outperforming its five-year average, and the need for copper in electric vehicles exponentially rises for the next ten years, continued to 2040. This means that the demand for copper is not slowing down, and if anything, the price will go up because the demand for the copper has gone up as well. Copper plays a vital and also low-key factor in our economy, and the green on your pennies symbolize the oxidization that has occurred over time to your copper penny.

Works Cited (Sources)

1. https://www.livescience.com/29377-copper.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoO8TbXebls

4. http://www.businessinsider.com/copper-is-the-metal-of-the-future-2017-10