Copper In Our Electrical World

I'm thinking that there is a better way to take those electronic devices (2:30) apart than just bashing at them with various hammers. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

I'd never really thought about the process through which copper deposits are made, and this video covers the chemistry from 3:30-5:00. From there we get to follow the copper from deposit to purified copper - through hydrometalurgical processing (purifying the copper via aqueous solutions - 5:15-8:30) and pyrometalurgical processing (heat, smelting - 8:40-11:30). The level of detail in each process is marvelous as are the animations used to show what happens in each step along the way. We even get a discussion of hydrophobic and hydrophilic effects at 9:30.

I had no idea of the numerous steps along the way from ore to pure metal.

The video moves onward to (11:40- ) to an exploration of why copper is used - relatively low cost, good conductivity, durability - so commonly throughout our industrial world. These properties are explored through the crystal structure (grains, boundaries, etc) of the copper crystals.

From 13:40 onward the uses of copper - wires, electromagnets, antennas and wireless, integrated circuits - are covered.

The video is a little long, but there is a degree's worth of science covered in the eighteen minutes here.