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.
I See You, too 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…
WAKE UP!! 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.

And now the news...

 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.
Crrreeeakk 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]
oww! squint …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].
Ahh... nice hot shower 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].
heat! heat! 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].

mmmmm, French roast

 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].

plug it in!

 [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.]
teacup3.wmf (1602 bytes) You pour a packet of sweetener into your coffee cup… [those pretty greens and blues in the ceramic glazes are copper compounds]
where's your napkin? …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].
where did I put those keys? After breakfast, you pull out your keys [probably made of brass, sometimes plated with nickel] and get in your car.
vroom, vroom! 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?]
jingle, jingle 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!]
Zip Zip …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!].
Somebody answer that phone! 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].
Wedding_ring.jpg (4077 bytes) 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].
Ding! 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].
it's everywhere! 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…]