Copper Domes
...taking time to appreciate the structure and beauty of objects around us. Copper domes are one of those simple objects that we often see but never really take the time to learn about. If we did, we would find that copper is one of the most reliable and remarkable elements known to man. It has a long history and many properties that make it an ideal candidate for the composition of domes. The process of creating copper and domes is a fascinating one, and the
end results can be seen everywhere from churches to theme parks.
History of Copper
Copper is one of the oldest elements known to man. The name Copper comes from the Latin word Cyprium (island of Cyprus), which is famous for its copper mines. Copper was probably first used along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around 8000 B.C. Three thousand years later, people learned how to heat copper. Middle Easterners learned how to heat and hammer the metal into sheets. These sheets were used to make larger tools, weapons, and ornaments. Around 3500 B.C., people discovered how to make bronze. Bronze is created by melting copper with arsenic. Around 1000 B.C., people learned the art of making brass. Brass is created my mixing zinc and copper. Brass coins began being used by the Romans around the 100s B.C. By the 1800s A.D., much advancement in copper had been made. The element was now used for electric lighting and for telephone and telegraph systems.
With all of this extra demand for copper, deposits with a high-grade ore were dwindling. Thus, geologists had to search for additional copper deposits. They located large ore deposits in the United States and Chile. The only problem was that the grade of the copper found was too low. However, Daniel C. Jackling found a solution to this problem in 1900. Jackling found that these low-grade copper ores could be cheaply processed. Thanks to...
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