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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 176
P
Member
I have a stupid question for everyone. Is the copper in wiring made from pure copper (not accounting for negligible impurities), or is it an alloy of some sort?
-Josh

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
Not only is it essentially pure copper, it is what is known as "oxygen free" copper.

Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 329
I
Member
"oxygen free" copper
They are required to use it on sattelites and on the space station. [Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 625
S
Member
Ya mean,... those guys selling the "oxygen-free" interconnects at $100 a foot are charging for a feature the $5 RCA cables from Radio Shack already have??? I'm shocked, I tell you! Shocked!!!

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 444
S
Member
Ok, you got me....what benefits are their to oxygen free copper?

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
L
LK Offline
Member
With oxygen free copper, the electrons sweat less.

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 64
J
Member

Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 840
C
Member
Yes, wire is made from pure copper. Even small amounts of impurities can greatly reduce conductivity.

Peter


Peter
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 794
Likes: 3
W
Member
Just imagine if the only good conductor of electricity was mercury. Instead of copper wire, you'd be using rubber hoses filled with mercury. Slices would be fun.... Talk about leakage.

SOme audiofools might be convinced that mercury filled garden hoses for speaker cable gave the music a "fluid" sound....

Heard, that back in WW2, some buildings built for the Manhattan project (A bomb development) were wired with silver wire, as copper was in short supply.

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 806
N
Member
Quote
Heard, that back in WW2, some buildings built for the Manhattan project (A bomb development) were wired with silver wire, as copper was in short supply.

Not buildings, AFAIK, but the electromagnet windings and busbars for the calutrons at Oak Ridge, TN, used for uranium isotope separation:
http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/HISTORY/H-06b2-1.htm

They borrowed 15,000 TONS of it from the US treasury...

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