Why do we use copper to make wires?

Answer 1

We make wires out of any conductive material.

There was a period when house wiring was made of aluminum, because it was easier to put into the structure, it was cheaper to make, and was as good as, if not better than copper at conducting electricity, but it turned out that if it was improperly installed, it was likely to cause a fire.

There is a linear accelerator that was built during wartime when copper was needed for jacketing ammunition. They used gold from the National Reserve, because the monetary requirements were only that the country would have the gold available (in reserve) without mention of where they would be keeping it.

I have an electric blanket which uses polymer threads to conduct the electricity. This is expensive, but makes the blanket much nicer to cuddle up to.

Many cars use the steel of the frame or engine as a ground return for the system power.

Very bright lamps used in projectors and theatre lighting use carbon rods because they make a bright light when there is a gap, and because the carbon is capable of conducting the huge amount of electricity required for that application.

So your question is why do we use copper so commonly.
Copper is easy to mine and smelt, thus not that costly.
It is abundant compared to many other metals, so it is relatively easy to get a lot of it.
It is ductile, meaning we can readily draw it into the wire shape.
It is maleable, meaning we can shape it when we want to install it.
It is easy to make it clean for a good connection. Just scraping it, or rubbing it with sandpaper makes a great surface that doesn't quickly get recoated with non-conductive corrosion.
It is soft enough that when a connection is tightened, it deforms to make a good contact.
It is very efficient at conducting the electricity without generating heat from losses.

Because it resists forming compounds, we use gold in places where corrosion will be a problem, for example, on electronic circuit board connectors or in medical and dental applications.
Because of its electrical characteristics, we use gold where excellent conduction matters, for example on connectors for high priced sound systems.
And because it is more ductile than copper, we use gold where the wires must be very tiny, for example, computer core memories (now obsolete), and bonding wires for chips.

Copper, however, is not as inexpensive as it once was. We can no longer afford to make pennies from it because that is more than a penny's worth of copper. This is because we use it in so many places. So, in the near future, we may find wires more frequently made of other materials.

There have been advances in making circuit boards by printing conductive inks on paper. I am sure we will be seeing other advances taking the pressure off copper too.

Answer 2

For frequencies up to about 100 megahertz, any kind of wire will work, but it will not look very professional if you use, multi conductor cable with all the conductors connected at both ends. Over 100 feet between supports, it may not be strong enough in a high wind. Above about 100 megahertz 1/4 inch steel wire may work well if it is copper plated = most of the current travels near the surface = skin effect. The antenna wire is possibly hard drawn for extra strength. The cable between the radio and the antenna needs to good quality if this is a long distance, even at less than 100 megahertz Neil

Answer 3

The reasons are as follows:
1. Copper is a good conductor of electricity
2. offers less resistance (thus reduced loss during transmission)
3. It is less reactive than other metals thus giving it long life and can be easily achieved in a purer form
4. It id more ductile than other metals thus even and long wires van be drawn.

Note: Platinum, gold and silver are the best for such such purposes and meet the above mentioned criteria better than copper does. Since these metals are extremely expensive copper is the next best solution. In Very Large Scale Integrations (VLSI) Gold is the preferred substance for wiring.

Answer 4

The main reason for the choice of copper is cost. However there is another reason. It doesn't have the thermal expansion and contraction with temperature changes that Aluminum has.

Aluminum has been used in house wiring when copper was too expensive. And Aluminum is used in all high voltage wires including all the wires that go to your home. Once in your house copper is the conductor of choice.

I have aluminum in the wiring of my home because it was built in 1973 when copper was too expensive.

Answer 5

Well, it's not because it's the best conducter of electriciy, silver is better. Copper is used because it's the best for the price, copper is very cheap compare with price of gold or silver.

Copper is a reddish-coloured metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals at room temperature, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity). In oxidation is mildly basic. Copper has its characteristic colour because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. Contrast this with the optical properties of silver, gold and aluminium.

Copper occupies the same family of the periodic table as silver and gold, hence it shares many characteristics with these metals. All have very high thermal and electrical conductivity. All are malleable metals. Gold and copper are the only colored metallic elements besides caesium, the alkali metal of period six.

Answer 6

Copper is the second best (after silver) electricity conductor. Is cheaper than silver. Is (after gold) very ductile (can easily form wires). Where you need a specific property, like in VLSI, gold is used: it is also a very good conductor, but what is important for this application is that it is not oxidized.

Answer 7

Copper is used for electrical wiring because it conducts electricity better.

Answer 8

copper has the whole package
its not too expensive to obtain realivly pure copper which is
malleable so it can be drawn into wires and
its ductile so dosnt break when its bent
and ofcourse its a good conductor

Answer 9

Copper conducts electricity best.

Answer 10

Because copper conducts electricity better than any other metal.