Like many of the transition elements, copper has a colored ion. Copper typically forms a bluish green solution. Copper (Cu) has two valences Cu I (cuprous) has one valence electron and Cu II (cupric) has two valence electrons. Copper was one of the earliest known metals, having reportedly been mined for over 5000 years. Copper is a good conductor because, like other metals, it contains free electrons. Free electrons are also known as conduction electrons. Each copper atom provides a single free electron, so there are as many free electrons as atoms. Free electron concentration in copper n = 8.5 × 10 28 per m 3.

1s² 2s²p⁶ 3s²p⁶d¹⁰4s¹

The Egyptians found that adding a small amount of tin made the metal easier to cast, sobronze alloys were found in Egypt almost as soon as copper was found. Copper isfound extensively in the Indus Valley Civilization by the 3rd millennium BC. Use ofcopper in ancient China dates to at least 2000 BC. By 1200 BC excellent bronzes werebeing made in China. Note that these dates are affected by wars and conquest, ascopper is easily melted down and reused. In Europe, Oetzi the Iceman, awell-preserved male dated to 3200 BC, was found with a copper-tipped axe whose metal was99.7% pure. High levels of arsenic in his hair suggest he was involved in coppersmelting. Brass, an alloy of zinc and copper, was known to the Greeks but first usedextensively by the Romans.

Alchemical Symbol, Cuprum

There are copper and bronze artifacts from Sumarian cities that date to 3000 BC, andEgyptian artifacts of copper and copper-tin alloys nearly as old. In one pyramid, acopper plumbing system was found that is 5000 years old. Drivers bcm. In the Americas productionin the Old Copper Complex, located in present day Michigan and Wisconsin, was dated backto at least 6000 to 3000 BC.

In Greek times, the metal was known by the name chalkos (equivalent of Roman aes)and named after the copper mines at Chalcis in Euboea. This stem is often seen asreferring to copper, notably in mineralogy. 'Chalcopyrite' is copperpyrites. The word was applied to iron as well after its introduction, long beforethe coining of sideros, 'sideros'. The word forsteel is caluy, clearly related to chalcos. Copper was avery important resource for the Romans and Greeks.

Additional Representation of Alchemical Symbols for Copper

In Roman times, it became known as cyprium aes, 'brass from Cyprus' or'brass of Venus' (aes being the generic term for copper alloys such asbronze-brass and other metals, and Cyprium because so much of it was mined inCyprus). From this, the phrase was simplified to cuprum and then eventuallyAnglicized into the English copper. Copper was associated with the goddessAphrodite/Venus in mythology and alchemy, owing to its lustrous beauty, its ancient use inproducing mirrors, and its association with Cyprus, which was sacred to the goddess. The Venusian name stuck in the West, and gave us cobre in Spanish, cuivrein French and Kupfer in German. In Welsh it is copr, which suggeststhat this word comes from old Celtic, and is unassociated with Venus. ThePhoenicians, and others, worked copper mines and smelters in Cyprus, Kupris.Venus, or Aphrodite, the Kupris, was born there, always loved theisland, and was its patron. She is very often referred to as Cypris. The word'cuprium' could have come either from the island or the goddess, and it isimpossible to make a distinction. The word cuprum was probably later Latin,and gave us the chemical symbol Cu. The Phoenicians were surely the ones who spreadthe knowledge and use of copper around the Mediterranean, and their metallurgicalprocedures were probably kept secret. Our word 'copper' comes from thePlattdeutsch coper or koper, still used in Dutch.

In alchemy the symbol for copper was also the symbol for theplanet Venus

Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metals to naturally occur as anuncompounded mineral. Copper was known to some of the oldest civilizations onrecord, and has a history of use that is at least 10,000 years old. A copper pendantwas found in what is now northern Iraq that dates to 8700 BC. By 5000 BC, there aresigns of copper smelting, the refining of copper from simple copper compounds such asmalachite or azurite. Among archaeological sites in Anatolia, Catal Hoyuk (~6000 BC)features native copper artifacts and smelted lead beads, but no smelted copper. ButCan Hasan (~5000 BC) had access to smelted copper; this site has yielded the oldest knowncast copper artifact, a copper mace head.

Copper smelting appears to have been developed independently in several parts of theworld. In addition to its development in Anatolia by 5000 BC, it was developed inChina before 2800 BC, in the Andes around 2000 BC, in Central America around 600 AD, andin West Africa around 900 AD.

The use of bronze was so pervasive in a certain era of civilization that it has beennamed the-Bronze Age. The transitional period in certain regions between thepreceding Neolithic period and the Bronze Age is termed the Chalcolithic, with somehigh-purity copper tools being used alongside stone tools.

Copper has been mined for many centuries. By 2000 BC, Europe was using copper-tinalloys or ‘bronze’. The Bronze Age is taken as 2500 BC to 600 BC.

During the Bronze age, copper was mined in the British Isles in the followinglocations, among others: Great Orme in North Wales, Alderley Edge in Cheshire, theIsle of Man between England and Northern Ireland, Parys Mountain of Anglesey, and EctonMine in the Stafforshire Moorlands.

At Great Orme in North Wales, such working extended for a depth of 70 meters. AtAlderley Edge in Cheshire, carbon dates have established mining at around 2280 - 1890 BC(at 95% probability).

Copper mining in United States began with marginal workings by Native Americans andsome development by early Spaniards. Europeans were mining copper in Connecticut asearly as 1709. Westward movement also brought an expansion of copper exploitationwith developments of significant deposits in Michigan and Arizona during the 1850's andthen in Montana during the 1860's.

Copper was mined extensively in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula with the heart ofextraction at the productive Quincy Mine. Arizona had many notable depositsincluding the Copper Queen in Bisbee and the United Verde in Jerome. The Anaconda inButte, Montana became the nation's chief copper supplier by 1886.

Copper has also been mined at the Bingham Copper Mine near Salt Lake City, Utah as wellas mines in Nevada and Tennessee.

Copper is a reddish-colored metal, with a high electricaland thermal conductivity (silver is the only pure metal to have a higher electricalconductivity at room temperature). In oxidation copper is mildly basic. Copperhas its characteristic color because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum,due to its band structure. This can be contrasted with the optical properties ofsilver, gold and aluminum.

Copper exists as a metallically bonded substance, allowing it tohave a wide variety of metallic properties.

Copper occupies the same family of the periodic table as silver and gold, since theyeach have one S-orbital electron on top of a filled shell. This similarity inelectron structure makes them similar in many characteristics. All have very highthermal and electrical conductivity, and all are malleable metals.

In its liquid state, a clear copper surface without ambient light appears somewhat greenish, another characteristic shared with gold. Silverdoes not have this property, so it is not a complementary color for the orange incandescence color. When liquid copper is in brightambient light, it retains some of its pinkish luster. Due to its high surface tension, the liquid metal does not wet surfaces but instead formsspherical droplets when poured on a surface.

Copper is insoluble in water (H₂O) as well as in isopropanol.

Numerous copper alloys exist, many with important historical and contemporary uses. Speculum metal and bronze are alloys of copper and tin. Brass is an alloy ofcopper and zinc. Monel metal, also called cupronickel, is an alloy of copper andnickel. While the metal 'bronze' usually refers to copper-tin alloys, italso is a generic term for any alloy of copper, such as aluminum bronze, silicon bronze,and manganese bronze.

The purity of copper is expressed as 4N for 99.99% pure or 7N for 99.99999% pure. Thenumeral gives the number of nines after the decimal point when expressed as a decimal (eg4N means 0.9999, or 99.99%).

The main copper ore producing countries are Chile, United States, Indonesia, Australia,Peru, Russia, Canada, China, Poland, Kazakhstan, Zambia and Mexico.

Copper can be found as native copper in mineral form. Minerals such as thesulfides: chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂), bornite (Cu₅FeS₄),covellite (CuS), chalcocite (Cu₂S) are sources of copper, as are thecarbonates: asurite (Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂) andmalachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) and the oxide: cuprite (Cu₂O).

Most copper ore is mined or extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines inporphyry copper deposits that contain 0.4 to 1.0 percent copper. Examples include:Chuquicamata in Chile and El Chino Mine in New Mexico. The average abundance ofcopper found within crustal rocks is approximately 68 ppm by mass, and 22 ppm by atoms.

The Intergovernmental Council of Copper Exporting Countries (CIPEC), defunct since1992, once tried to play a similar role for copper as OPEC does for oil, but neverachieved the same influence, not least because the second-largest producer, the UnitedStates, was never a member. Formed in 1967, its principal members were Chile, Peru,Zaire, and Zambia.

The copper price has quintupled since 1999, rising from $0.60 per pound in June 1999 to$3.75 per pound in May 2006 where it began to drop steadily, most recently dropping toaround $2.20.

Copper is malleable and ductile, a good conductor of heat and, and, when very pure, agood conductor of electricity.

The two most familiar alloys of copper are bronze and brass. Bronze, the firstalloy created by people, is a mix of copper that contains as much as 25% tin. Early people used bronze to make tools, weaponry, containers and ornamental items. Brass,a mix of copper that contains between 5% and 45% zinc, was first used about 2,500 yearsago. The Romans were the first to make extensive use of brass, using it to make suchthings as coins, kettles and ornamental objects. Today, brass is also used in somemusical instruments, screws and other hardware that must resist corrosion.

It is used extensively, in products such as:

• Electronics:
  • Copper wire.
  • Electromagnets.
  • Printed circuit boards.
  • Electrical machines, especially electromagnetic motors and generators.
  • Electrical relays, electrical busbars and electrical switches.
  • Vacuum tubes, cathode ray tubes, and the magnetrons in microwave ovens.
  • Wave guides for microwave radiation.
  • Integrated circuits, increasingly replacing aluminum because of its superior electrical conductivity.
  • As a material in the manufacture of computer heat sinks, as a result of its superior heat dissipation capacity to aluminum.

• Structural Engineering:
  • The Statue of Liberty, for example, contains 179,220 pounds (81.3 tons) of copper.
  • Alloyed with nickel, e.g. cupronickel and Monel, used as corrosive resistant materials in shipbuilding.
  • Watt's steam engine.

• Household Products:
  • Copper plumbing fittings and compression tubes.
  • Doorknobs and other fixtures in houses.
  • Roofing, guttering, and rainspouts on buildings.
  • In cookware, such as frying pans.
  • Most flatware (knoves, forks, spoons) contains some copper (nickel silver).
  • Sterling silver, if it is to be used in dinnerware, must contain a few percent copper.
  • Copper was sometimes used by the Inuit to make the cutting blade for ulus.
  • Copper water heating cylinders

• Coinage:
  • As a component of coins, often as cupronickel alloy.
  • Euro coins contain different copper alloys
  • Since 1982, U.S. Pennies are 0.8% copper by weight (Balance zinc 99.2%).
  • U.S. Nickels are 75.0% copper by weight (Balance nickel 25.0%).
  • Since 1965, U.S. Dimes and Quarters are 91.67% copper by weight (Balance nickel 8.33%).

• Biomedical:
  • As a biostatic surface in hospitals, and to line parts of ships to protect against barnacles and mussels, originally used pure, but superseded by Muntz Metal. Bacteria will not grow on a copper surface because it is biostatic. Copper doorknobs are used by hospitals to reduce the transfer of disease, and Legionnaires' disease is suppressed by copper tubing in air-conditioning systems.
  • Copper (II) sulfate is used as a fungicide and as algae control in domestic lakes and ponds. It is used in gardening powders and sprays to kill mildew.
  • Copper-62-PTSM, a complex containing radioactive copper-62, is used as a Positron emission tomogaphy radiotracer for heart blood flow measurements.

• Chemical:
  • Compounds, such as Fehling's solution, have applications in chemistry.
  • As a component in ceramic glazes, and to color glass.

• Catalysis:
  • Used in the Water gas shift reaction which converts carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide.
  • Steam reforming which extracts hydrogen from hydrocarbons.

• Other Uses:
  • Musical instruments, especially brass instruments and cymbals.

Copper is essential in all higher plants and animals. Copper is carried mostly inthe bloodstream on a plasma proten called ceruloplasmin. When copper is firstabsorbed in the gut it is transported to the liver bound to albumin. Copper is foundin a variety of enzymes, including the copper centers of cytochrome c oxidase and theenzyme superoxide dismutase (containing copper and zinc). In addition to itsenzymatic roles, copper is used for biological electron transport. The blue copper proteins that participate in electron transport includeazurin and plastocyanin. The name 'blue copper'comes from their intense blue color arising from aligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) absorption band around 600 nm.

Most mollusks and some arthropods such as the horseshoe crab use the copper-containingpigment hemocyanin rather than iron-containing hemoglobin for oxygen transport, so theirblood is blue when oxygenated rather than red.

It is believed that zinc and copper compete for absorption in the digestive tract sothat a diet that is excessive in one of these minerals may result in a deficiency in theother. The RDA for copper in normal healthy adults is 0.9 mgg/day. Because of its role infacilitating iron uptake, copper deficiency can often produce anemia like symptoms.

Hydrated copper sulfate (CuSO₄·H₂O), also known as blue vitrol,is the best known copper compound. It is used as an agricultural poison, as analgicide in water purification and as a blue pigment for inks. Cupric chloride (CuCl₂),another copper compound, is used to fix dyes to fabrics. Cuprous chloride (CuCl) isa poisonous white powder that is chiefly used to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂).Copper cyanide (CuCN) is commonly used in electroplating.

Common oxidation states of copper include the less stable copper (I) state, Cu⁺;and the more stable copper (II) state, Cu²⁺, which forms blueor blue-green salts andsolutions. Under unusual conditions, a +3 state and even an extremely rare +4 statecan be obtained.

Copper (II) carbonate is green from which arises theunique appearance of copper-clad roofs or domes on some buildings. Copper (II) sulfateforms a blue crystalline pentahydrate which is perhaps themost familiar copper compound in the laboratory. It is used as a fungicide, known asBordeaux mixture.

There are two stable copper oxides, copper (II) oxide (CuO) and copper (I) oxide (Cu₂O). Copper oxides are used to make yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa₂Cu₃O_7-d)or YBCO which forms the basis of many unconventional superconductors.

• Copper (I) compounds : copper (I) chloride, copper (I) bromide, copper (I) iodide, copper (I) oxide.

• Copper (II) compounds : copper (II) carbonate, copper (II) chloride, copper (II) hydroxide, copper (II) nitrate, copper (II) oxide, copper (II) sulfate, copper (II) sulfide.

• Copper (III) compounds, rare: potassium hexafluorocuprate (K₃CuF₆)

• Copper (IV) compounds, extremely rare: cesium hexafluorocuprate (Cs₂CuF₆)

Copper (I) and Copper (II) can also be referred to by their common names cuprous andcupric.

Add aqueous sodium hydroxide. A blue precipitate ofcopper (II) hydroxide should form.

Ionic equation:

Cu²⁺_(aq) + 2OH^-_(aq) Cu(OH)_2(s)

The full equation shows that the reaction is due to hydroxide ions deprotonating thehexaaquacopper (II) complex:

[Cu(H₂O)₆]²⁺_(aq) + 2OH^-_(aq) Cu(H₂O)₄(OH)_2(s) + 2 H₂O_(l)

Adding aqueous ammonia causes the same precipitate to form. It then dissolves uponadding excess ammonia, to form a deep blue ammonia complex,tetraamminecopper (II).

Ionic equation:

Cu(H₂O)₄(OH)_2(s) + 4NH_3(aq) [Cu(H₂O)₂(NH₃)₄]²⁺_(aq) + 4H₂O _(l)

A more delicate test than the ammonia is the ferrocyanide of potassium, which gives a brown precipitate with copper salts.

Cuprous oxide, Cu₂O is red, andcuprous sulphide, Cu₂S is black. Both are very insoluble. In any solublecuprous compound, auto-oxidation generally occurs, 2Cu⁺ Cu + Cu⁺⁺, producing thecupric salt. Cupric oxide, CuO is produced by heating copper in air, or by stronglyheating any oxygen-containing cupric salt. CuS is produced in an analogous way. In solution, the copper ion forms complex ions, such as Cu(H₂O)₄⁺⁺,or Cu(NH₃)₄⁺⁺. These are flat, square ions, of blue color. The water ion is medium blue,the ammonia ion dark blue.

Cupric sulphate, CuSO₄·5H₂O, called bluestone or blue vitriol,is soluble in 0°C water to 24.3%, in 100°C water to 205%. The blue color requires the water. The anhydrous salt, preparedby heating, is white or pale green. Its solutions areslightly acidic, and are strong germicides and fungicides. Bordeaux mixture is agarden insecticide that contains copper sulphate. The triclinic crystals are easilygrown. This is the substance that supplies the copper ions in a Daniell cell orgravity cell. The sulphate can be recovered by dissolving the copper cathodes of thecells in sulphuric acid, so the copper is continuously regenerated as the zinc is burned.

The primary ores are sulphides and oxides, usually mixed with iron. Chalcociteis Cu₂S, chalcopyrite CuFeS₂, covellite CuS, and borniteCu₃FeS₃. The oxides are cuprite Cu₂O, tenoriteCuO, malachite CuCO₃·Cu(OH)₂ (mineral verdigris), azurite2CuCO₃·Cu(OH)₂, and the silicate chrysocolla CuSiO₃·2H₂O.Many of these minerals make attractive specimens, because of their greenand blue Asicen driver download for windows 10. colors, and can be carved into ornaments. They arenot seen as crystals or massive forms in the ore mined today, but widely disseminated inan earthy matrix.

There are two stable isotopes, ⁶³Cu and ⁶⁵Cu, along with a coupledozen radioisotopes. The vast majority of radioisotopes have half lives on the orderof minutes or less; the longest lived, ⁶⁴Cu, has a half life of 12.7 hours,with two decay modes leading to two separate products.

The DRI Tolerable Upper Intake Level for adults of dietary copper from all sources is10 mg/day. In toxicity, copper can inhibit the enzyme dihydrophil hydratase, anenzyme involved in haemopoisesis.

Symptoms of copper poisoning are very similar to those produced by arsenic. Coppery eructations and taste. Fatal cases are generally terminated by convulsions,palsy, and insensibility.

In cases of suspected copper poisoning, Ovalbumin is to be administered in either ofits forms which can be most readily obtained, as milk or whites of eggs. Vinegarshould not be given. The inflammatory symptoms are to be treated on generalprinciples, and so are the nervous.

A significant portion of the toxicity of copper comes from its ability to accept anddonate single electrons as it changes oxidation state. This catalyzes the productionof very reactive radical ions such as hydroxyl radical in a manner similar to fentonchemistry. This catalytic activity of copper is used by the enzymes that it isassociated with and is thus only toxic when unsequestered and unmediated. Thisincrease in unmediated reactive radicals is generally termed oxidative stress and is anactive area of research in a variety of diseases where copper may play an important butmore subtle role than in acute toxicity.

An inherited condition called Wilson's disease causes the body to retain copper, sinceit is not excreted by the liver into the bilel. This disease, if untreated, can leadto brain and liver damage. In addition, studies have found that people with mentalillnesses such as schizophrenia had heightened levels of copper in their systems. However it is unknown at this stage whether the copper contributes to the mental illness,whether the body attempts to store more copper in response to the illness, or whether thehigh levels of copper are the result of the mental illness.

Too much copper in water has also been found to damage marine life. The observedeffect of these higher concentrations on fish and other creatures is damage to gills,liver, kidneys, and the nervous system. It also interferes with the sense of smellin fish, thus preventing them from choosing good mates or finding their way to matingareas.

When researchers reported last month that the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic survives for days on glass and stainless steel but dies within hours after landing on copper, the only thing that surprised Bill Keevil was that the pathogen lasted so long on copper.

Keevil, a microbiology researcher at the University of Southampton in England, has studied the antimicrobial effects of copper for more than two decades. He has watched in his laboratory as the simple metal slew one bad bug after another. He began with the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's Disease and then turned to drug-resistant killer infections like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). He tested viruses that caused worldwide health scares such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Swine Flu (H1N1) pandemic of 2009. In each case, copper contact killed the pathogen within minutes. 'It just blew it apart,' he says.

In 2015, Keevil turned his attention to Coronavirus 229E, a relative of the COVID-19 virus that causes the common cold and pneumonia. Once again, copper zapped the virus within minutes while it remained infectious for five days on surfaces such as stainless steel or glass.

“One of the ironies is, people [install] stainless steel because it seems clean and in a way, it is,” he says, noting the material’s ubiquity in public places. “But then the argument is how often do you clean? We don’t clean often enough.” Copper, by contrast, disinfects merely by being there.

Ancient Knowledge

Keevil’s work is a modern confirmation of an ancient remedy. For thousands of years, long before they knew about germs or viruses, people have known of copper’s disinfectant powers. 'Copper is truly a gift from Mother Nature in that the human race has been using it for over eight millennia,' says Michael G. Schmidt, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina who researches copper in healthcare settings.

The first recorded use of copper as an infection-killing agent comes from Smith's Papyrus, the oldest-known medical document in history. The information therein has been ascribed to an Egyptian doctor circa 1700 B.C. but is based on information that dates back as far as 3200 B.C. Egyptians designated the ankh symbol, representing eternal life, to denote copper in hieroglyphs.

As far back as 1,600 B.C., the Chinese used copper coins as medication to treat heart and stomach pain as well as bladder diseases. The sea-faring Phoenicians inserted shavings from their bronze swords into battle wounds to prevent infection. For thousands of years, women have known that their children didn't get diarrhea as frequently when they drank from copper vessels and passed on this knowledge to subsequent generations. 'You don't need a medical degree to diagnose diarrhea,' Schmidt says.

And copper’s power lasts. Digibest driver. Keevil’s team checked the old railings at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal a few years ago. 'The copper is still working just like it did the day it was put in over 100 years ago,' he says. 'This stuff is durable and the anti-microbial effect doesn't go away.'

Valence Electrons Chart

Long-Lasting Power

What the ancients knew, modern scientists and organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency have confirmed. The EPA has registered about 400 copper surfaces as antimicrobial. But how exactly does it work?

Heavy metals including gold and silver are antibacterial, but copper’s specific atomic makeup gives it extra killing power, Keevil says. Copper has a free electron in its outer orbital shell of electrons that easily takes part in oxidation-reduction reactions (which also makes the metal a good conductor). As a result, Schmidt says, it becomes a “molecular oxygen grenade.” Silver and gold don’t have the free electron, so they are less reactive.

Copper kills in other ways as well, according to Keevil, who has published papers on the effect. When a microbe lands on copper, ions blast the pathogen like an onslaught of missiles, preventing cell respiration and punching holes in the cell membrane or viral coating and creating free radicals that accelerate the kill, especially on dry surfaces. Most importantly, the ions seek and destroy the DNA and RNA inside a bacteria or virus, preventing the mutations that create drug-resistant superbugs. “The properties never wear off, even if it tarnishes,” Schmidt says.

Schmidt has focused his research on the question of whether using copper alloys in often-touched surfaces reduces hospital infections. On any given day, about one in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control, costing as much as $50,000 per patient. Schmidt’s landmark study, funded by the Department of Defense, looked at copper alloys on surfaces including bedside rails, tray tables, intravenous poles, and chair armrests at three hospitals around the country. That 43-month investigation revealed a 58 percent infection reduction compared to routine infection protocols.

Further research stalled when the DOD focused on the Zika epidemic, so Schmidt turned his attention to working with a manufacturer that created a copper hospital bed. A two-year study published earlier this year compared beds in an intensive care unit with plastic surfaces and those with copper. Bed rails on the plastic surfaces exceeded the accepted risk standards in nearly 90 percent of the samples, while the rails on the copper bed exceeded those standards on only 9 percent. 'We again demonstrated in spades that copper can keep the built environment clean from microorganisms,' he says.

Schmidt is also a co-author of an 18-month study led by Shannon Hinsa-Leasure, an environmental microbiologist at Grinnell College, that compared the bacterial abundance in occupied and unoccupied rooms at Grinnell Regional Medical Center's 49-bed rural hospital. Again, copper reduced bacterial numbers. 'If you're using a copper alloy that's always working,' Hinsa-Leasure says, “you still need to clean the environment, but you have something in place that's working all the time (to disinfect) as well.'

Harnessing Copper

Periodic Table Valence Electrons

Keevil and Schmidt have found that installing copper on just 10 percent of surfaces would prevent infections and save $1,176 a day (comparing the reduced cost of treating infections to the cost of installing copper). Yet hospitals have been slow to respond. 'I've been surprised how slow it has been to be taken up by hospitals,' Hinsa-Leasure adds. 'A lot of it has to do with our healthcare system and funding to hospitals, which is very tight. When our hospital redid our emergency room, we installed copper alloys in key places. So it makes a lot of sense when you're doing a renovation or building something that's new. It's more expensive if you're just changing something that you already have.'

The Sentara Hospital system in North Carolina and Virginia made copper-impregnated surfaces the standard across 13 hospitals in 2017 for overbed tables and bed rails after a 2016 clinical trial at a Virginia Beach hospital reported a 78 percent reduction in drug-resistant organisms. Using technology pioneered in Israel, the hospital has also moved to copper-infused bedding. Keevil says France and Poland are beginning to put copper alloys in hospitals. In Peru and Chile, which produce copper, it's being used in hospitals and the public transit systems. 'So it's going around the world, but it still hasn't taken off,' he says.

Valence Electrons Copper Have

If copper kills COVID-19, should you periodically roll a few pennies and nickels around in your hands? Stick with water, soap, and sanitizer. 'You never know how many viruses are affiliated with the hand, so it may not completely get them all,” Schmidt says. “It will only be a guess if copper will completely protect.'