Copper

Copper, Cu, 29, is one of the oldest known metals, because it is sometimes found pure in nature, so doesn't need to be refined. It is reletively soft, fairly heavy, and shows a very unique redish color.

Copper's main use you might find around the house is electrical wire, because copper is fairly soft and a good conducter of electricity. Circuit boards in computers and other electronic devices use copper on"printed circuit boards", or PCBs, because you can start with a thin layer of copper on a plastic base, print a circuit board shape onto the copper with acid-proof paint, then use acids to etch the copper wherever there is no paint, leaving behind whatever you printed, only in copper. Parts can then be attached to these "trails" of copper, and a complex circuits can be acheived.

Copper can also quite easily be electro-plated on to metals such as steel, and once plated is a good base to plate other metals such as gold or chromium onto.

These are my samples!