ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center -- Life With Copper --

Life With Copper
Copper can be found throughout our regular daily routine. Let's explore the beginning of a typical day and discover how copper enhances your life.

	Suppose you were able to put on some special "Copper-Vision" glasses and a little voice told you every time you used something with copper in it...

	It's seven o'clock. Your alarm clock [with its brass bell, brass gears, or, if it is electric, with copper wires in the motor] awakens you from a sound sleep.
	For the morning news, you turn on the radio [powered by electricity brought to it by the copper wire in the wall plug, with copper wires wound in the speaker coil to convert electrical signals into sound].
	You get out of bed...[this shiny brass bed frame has about 50 pounds of copper and zinc -- that's what brass is, y'know -- an alloy of copper and zinc!] . Bronze is any of a broad range of copper alloys, usually with tin as the main additive.
	You get up, drag yourself over to the bathroom, open the door... [the doorknob is probably brass too, and the door hangs on brass hinges mounted with brass screws]
	...and turn on the light [copper wires bring electricity to and through your home to the wall switch which has brass or copper contacts. The bulb itself may have a brass base, and the fixture probably has copper or brass connectors inside].
	Then, you reach in the shower and turn on the faucet [made of chrome-plated brass] so you can bathe [in water piped through your house in copper tubing].
	Brrr! It's cold when you get out, so you turn up the thermostat [controlled by a coiled bimetallic strip connected by copper wires to your heater].
	Ahh... the aroma of fresh coffee [ground in a coffee mill by another electric motor wound with fine copper wire] wafts into your nose from the automatic coffee maker [controlled by an electronic circuit board with copper components] plugged [with a copper wire] into the kitchen wall socket [made of copper or brass connectors].
	[Get the idea? Practically every electrical appliance you own has copper in it, and uses electricity brought to it by copper wires! A typical, empty, single-family house contains 439 pounds of copper in the wiring, plumbing, and built-in appliances.]
	You pour a packet of sweetener into your coffee cup... [those pretty greens and blues in the ceramic glazes are copper compounds]
	...and stir it with a spoon [sterling silver is alloyed with copper to make it durable, and even stainless flatware may have a copper alloy core before it is plated].
	After breakfast, you pull out your keys [probably made of brass, sometimes plated with nickel] and get in your car.
	You turn the key to start the engine [electricity flows through the copper battery cables past the copper contacts in the starter switch and through the copper windings of the starter motor which turns over the engine] and drive to work. [Did you know this car has about 50 pounds of copper in its electrical and cooling systems?]
	On the way, you stop and buy a double-mocha latte at the quick mart with a stack of coins... [dimes and quarters have a copper core clad with silver alloy, although pennies are now copper-coated zinc. Even a nickel contains more copper than it has nickel!]
	...from the pocket in your pants [the rivets in those name-brand jeans are copper, and the zipper is probably made of brass,... oh, and how about that nice brass belt buckle!].
	Even before you reach your desk, you hear the ringing of the telephone [which converts electrical signals on the copper telephone wires into sound you can hear].
	It's the jewelry store on the line telling you that they have finished cleaning your wedding ring [pure 24 karat gold is too soft to wear, so it is alloyed with copper to make it more durable. Ten karat "pink gold" is more than 50% copper].
	After that call, you reach over and turn on your computer [yep, another device powered by electricity through copper wires, and loaded with more copper connections carrying data between components. Even fiber-optic devices contain copper components that provide power and that convert the electrical signals into the light beams that travel along the glass fiber].
	You take off your "Copper Vision" glasses [hey, those metal frames are brass or bronze aren't they?] so you can get some work done. The little voice is always talking because there is copper in so many things around you! [Wait, we've just gotten started...]