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¢º Copper Gallery £¾Features of Copper
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Copper: Forever-lasting
Corrosion-resistant
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While most metals diminish in weight in one way or another due to corrosion with the passage of time,
copper is an exception. Copper is a metal that is corrosion-resistant. The strength of copper can be clearly witnessed in
comparison to iron. In an experiment undertaken to find out the period of time taken to get a hole in a 1mm-thick copperplate
and a steel plate, both plates were placed in water. The experiment showed that it took 197 years to get a hole through a copperplate while
only 6 years were necessary before a hole was placed in a steel plate.
Yet there is a mystery that cannot be solved with this experiment alone.
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It is said that there are remains of a water supply pipe made of copper, still intact today that was used in the temples of Apsil in ancient Egypt.
gdHow is this possible when the pipe is over 5,000 years old?
A 33.4 cm-long copper sword from the Bronze age, now in the custody of the National Museum of Korea, was excavated in the areas of Songguk-ri,
Chochon-myeon, Buyeo-gun, south of the Chungcheong province, and a Honyeong-style 33.3 cm-long copper sword, now in the custody of the
Gyeongju National Museum, was also excavated in Jindong-ri, Jindong-myeon, Uichang-gun, south of the Gyeongsang province.
Both swords were known to be manufactured in the 4th or 5th century BC, more than 2,500 years ago. How is this possible?
Copper is a metal that forms a thin film the moment it comes into contact with moisture or water, in order to protect its own surface,
representing the unsolved mystery of copper behaving differently in theory and reality.
A U.S. study revealed that the phosphorus deoxidized copperplates used in a 20-year-old house as roofing material are 700 to 1,300 years in
corrosion extent.
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Processibility and Alloy Feature of Copper
Processibility
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Copper can be forged the broadest, thinnest, and longest, next to gold and silver. Copperplates,
0.03mm thinner than paper, are used in circuit boards of a wide range of electronic goods. A ton of copper can be made into 3,300 mm
(15 mm in diameter) copper tubes used in coils of "ondol", the traditional Korean floor heating system. Because of the superb ductility of copper,
it is used as a material for cartridge cases of rifle bullets and cannonballs. Copper can also be welded into all kinds of metals with the
exception of aluminum.
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Copper is the best material for making cast products. Statues, faucet or other types of valves, door locks and other daily
goods are also made of this metal.
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Alloy Features
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Copper is generally divided into native copper and copper alloy. There are three types of native copper, a metal that contains only copper.
Native copper is commercialized and used as a material to make copper alloy. Copper alloys well with other metals and several copper alloys
can thus be produced for special purposes since its mechanical and physical properties can be controlled.
The materials used in aircraft or rockets are required to be lightweight, but heat-resistant. In such cases, the materials that meet the
requirements best are used. If such materials cannot be found, however, a new alloy must be developed. If it was possible to produce an
alloy by mixing the best properties from all metals, a metal that can meet any requirement can be produced.
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