COPPER CATHODES
A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic CCD for Cathode Current Departs.
Etymology
The word was coined in 1834 from the Greek κάθοδος (kathodos), ‘descent’ or ‘way down’, by William Whewell, who had been consulted by Michael Faraday over some new names needed to complete a paper on the recently discovered process of electrolysis. In that paper Faraday explained that when an electrolytic cell is oriented so that electric current traverses the “decomposing body” (electrolyte) in a direction “from East to West, or, which will strengthen this help to the memory, that in which the sun appears to move”, the cathode is where the current leaves the electrolyte, on the West side: “kata downwards, `odos a way ; the way which the sun sets”.
Since the later discovery of the electron, an easier to remember, and more durably technically correct (although historically false), etymology has been suggested: cathode, from the Greek kathodos, ‘way down’, ‘the way (down) into the cell (or other device) for electrons’.
COPPER MILLBERRY
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.
A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.
COPPER INGOTS
An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of shaping, such as cold/hot working, cutting, or milling to produce a useful final product.
Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods. Precious metal ingots can be used as currency (with or without being processed into other shapes), or as a currency reserve, as with gold bars.
COPPER SCRAP
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered metals, and non-metallic materials are also recovered for recycling. Once collected, the materials are sorted into types — typically metal scrap will be crushed, shredded, and sorted using mechanical processes.
Copper is commercially produced mainly by smelting or leaching, usually followed by electrodeposition from sulfate solutions. For a detailed treatment of the production of copper, see copper processing. The major portion of copper produced in the world is used by the electrical industries; most of the remainder is combined with other metals to form alloys. (It is also technologically important as an electroplated coating.) Important series of alloys in which copper is the chief constituent are brasses (copper and zinc), bronzes (copper and tin), and nickel silvers (copper, zinc, and nickel, no silver). There are many useful alloys of copper and nickel, including Monel; the two metals are completely miscible. Copper also forms an important series of alloys with aluminum, called aluminum bronzes. Beryllium copper (2 percent Be) is an unusual copper alloy in that it can be hardened by heat treatment. Copper is a part of many coinage metals. Long after the Bronze Age passed into the Iron Age, copper remained the metal second in use and importance to iron. By the 1960s, however, cheaper and much more plentiful aluminum had moved into second place in world production.
