COPPER (small cabinet)

Copper, represented by the symbol Cu (derived from the Latin term cuprum) and holding the atomic number 29, is a versatile chemical element. This soft, malleable, and ductile metal is renowned for its exceptional thermal and electrical conductivity, exhibiting a distinctive pinkish-orange hue when freshly exposed. Its applications are diverse, serving as a conductor for heat and electricity, a fundamental building material, and a key component in various metal alloys, including sterling silver for jewelry, cupronickel for marine hardware and coins, and constantan for temperature measurement devices like strain gauges and thermocouples. 

Notably, copper is one of the rare metals that can be found in nature in a pure, unalloyed state, classifying it as a native metal. This characteristic facilitated its early utilization by humans around 8000 BC. Over the millennia, copper became the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores around 5000 BC, the first to be cast into molds around 4000 BC, and the first to be intentionally alloyed with tin to produce bronze around 3500 BC. Common copper compounds, particularly copper(II) salts, are often responsible for the blue and green hues seen in minerals like azurite, malachite, and turquoise, which have historically been used as pigments.