The World Copper Factbook 2019 International Copper Study Group 2 Copper Properties and Benefits Chemical Sy mbol Cu Atom ic Num b er 29 Atomic Weig ht 6354 Densi t y 8960 kg m 3 Melting poin t 1356 K Specific Hea t cp a t 293 K 0383 kJ kg 1 K1 Thermal con ductiv i t y 394 W m1 K1 Coe fficien t o f linear expa n sion 165 x 106 K1 Youngs Mo dulus of Ela s ticit y 110 x 10 9 N m2 Electrical Co nductiv i t y IACS 1673 x 10 8 ohmm Cr y s tal Structure Face Center e d Cubic Copper makes vital contributions to sustaining an d improving society Coppers chemical physic a l and aesthetic properties make it a material of choice in a wide ran g e of domesti c industrial and high t e c hnology applications Alloyed with other metals such as zinc to form brass alumi n um or tin to form bronzes or nickel for example it can acquire new characteristi c s for use in highly specialized applications In fact societys infrastructure is based in par t on copper But coppers ben e fits ext e nd be y o nd mechanical c h aracteri stics Copper is essen t ial to th e health of plants anim al and huma n s Deficiencies as well as ex cesses can be detrim ental to health Antimicrobial Properti es Due to coppers antimicrobia l properties copper and copper allo y products can be used to eliminat e pa thogens and reduc e the sp r e ad of diseases Recycling Copper is one of the mo s t recycled of all metals Virtually all products made from copper can be recycled and recycled copper loses no ne of its chemical or physical properti es Energy Effici ency Copper can improve the efficiency of en e r gy production an d distributi o n systems Key Ph ysi cal Prope rties of Copper