Why is copper so popular?

COPPER HAS a number of very important
properties including high ductility,
malleability and electrical conductivity,
which make it perfect for electrical wiring.
It is the best conductor of electricity of all
non-precious metals. Electrical uses include
power transmission and generation, wire
for residential and commercial buildings,
telecommunications and electrical products.
Although you should never mix water and
power, copper tubing is also the most reliable
and cost effective choice for distributing
water throughout buildings. Due to its high
thermal conductivity, the tubing is also used
in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems.
In addition, copper is used in the
high-tech world by the manufacturers of
computer chips to link transistors. The use of
copper as opposed to aluminium increases
the chips’ speed and helps limit
heat generation.
This is especially important as more
circuits are being packed into a single chip
with the advancement of technology.
The big surprise is the increased use of
copper in the manufacturing of cars. There is
approximately 25 kg of copper in a typical
US-manufactured car, 20 is used for electrical
and five for non-electrical components. Due
to technological advances in the industry, an
average luxury car will contain 1 500 copper
wires stretching 1.6 km in length. The new
hybrid cars contain about 45 kg of copper.