Asked by: Rafia Stanke
home and garden indoor environmental quality

Which is more expensive copper or aluminum?

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Copper is much more expensivethanaluminum. When an elaborate amount of wiring is requiredfora job, the overall costs of using copper may prove tobeprohibitive. It is also much heavier than itsaluminumcounterpart which can add to the complexity oftheinstallation.


Just so, which is better aluminum or copper?

Aluminum has 61 percent of the conductivityofcopper, but has only 30 percent of the weightofcopper. That means that a bare wire ofaluminumweighs half as much as a bare wire of copperthat has thesame electrical resistance. Aluminum isgenerallymore inexpensive when compared tocopperconductors.

Secondly, is tin more expensive than copper? The US Geological Survey has a nice overviewoftin statistics. Tin's price per pound is about 3 to5times that of base metals such as zinc, lead,andcopper, yet it is much cheaper than preciousmetalssuch as silver, gold, and platinum. Hence, Ithinktin could in the future be considered a"semi-precious"metal.

Accordingly, which has higher resistance copper or Aluminium?

Copper has a significantly lowerspecificelectrical resistivity than aluminium: 100,comparedto 160. To attribute to an aluminium conductor thesameresistance as a copper conductor, thecross-sectionalarea of the aluminium conductor must becomelarger tocompensate for aluminium's higherelectricalresistivity.

What are the disadvantages of copper?

The Disadvantages of Copper Wire

  • Cost. Copper costs far more than fiber optic cable.
  • Corrosion. One of the most serious disadvantages of copperwireis its susceptibility to corrosion, that is, oxidation.
  • Shock Hazard. Fiber optic cable has a lower shock hazardthancopper wire.
  • Bonding.

Related Question Answers

Donya Saez Bravo

Professional

What is the disadvantage of using aluminum wire?

The disadvantage of aluminum wiring isthatit must be installed correctly to avoid the risk of housefires.When a current runs through aluminum wiring it causesthemetal to expand. This creates a cycle of expanding andcontractingcalled “cold creep.” In time, this cancause connectionsto become loose and spark.

Isabell Althuis

Professional

Can you mix copper and aluminum wiring?

The only way considered safe to connect copperandaluminum is through a splice connector.Specifically,you have to connect the wiresindividually so theyare not prone to corrosion. The effectivenessof“pigtailing” using twist-on connectors hasbeenevaluated by CPSC staff.

Yuriko Tormollen

Professional

Will aluminum rust?

Aluminum corrodes but it does notrust.Rust refers only to iron and steelcorrosion.Aluminum is actually very prone to corrosion.However,aluminum corrosion is aluminum oxide, a veryhardmaterial that actually protects the aluminum fromfurthercorrosion.

Carme Rosiña

Explainer

What is the most conductive material?

The most highly conductive metalsaresilver, copper, and gold. Copper, for example, ishighlyconductive and commonly used in metal wiring. Brass,on theother hand, contains copper but other materials initsmakeup reduce conductivity. Pure silver is themostconductive of all metals.

Mouhssin Radermacher

Explainer

Will copper rust?

Copper is an element, too. Copperandbronze do not contain any iron, and only iron canrust(because rust is defined as iron oxide, a compoundof ironand oxygen); so the answer is that steel will rustthefastest and copper and bronze willnever'rust'. But, yes, copper and bronze do tarnish,theydo corrode.

Nicola Grieswald

Explainer

Why is aluminum used instead of copper?

Aluminum over other metals as anoverheadcable.
Aluminum overhead conductors are cheaperthancopper and twice as lighter in weight when compared withthesame dimensions. The replacement of aluminum cables isthreetimes cheaper than copper cables. These conductors areeasyto install and have a low maintenance cost.

Yaquelin Vilarandas

Pundit

How can you tell if a wire is copper or aluminum?

In the attic look at the wire gaugeor"size."
If you see only #12 and no #14,aluminumwiring may be present. Aluminum wire must beonewire gauge size larger for a given circuit thanifcopper was used.

Tennie Quartieri

Pundit

Is copper patina toxic?

Many patinas are toxic andcorrosive.Fuming copper with ammonia, for instance, isalow-toxicity approach to obtaining blues and greens.Thesecolors include copper hydroxides andcopperchlorides, both dangerous for skin contact and ifinhaled (as dryparticles). Some patina fumes attack theeyes.

Saliente Dworak

Pundit

Why is aluminum wire dangerous?

Aluminum will become defective faster thancopperdue to certain qualities inherent in the metal.Neglectedconnections in outlets, switches and light fixturescontainingaluminum wiring become increasinglydangerous overtime. Poor connections cause wiring tooverheat, creating apotential fire hazard.

Yihao Stubblefiel

Pundit

Is copper a good conductor of electricity?

Copper has the best electricalconductivityof any metal, except silver. A good electricalconductivityis the same as a small electrical resistance.Picture 1 Alightning conductor carries the charge safely toground.Copper wires allow electric current to flowwithoutmuch loss of energy.

Feliciano Gualan

Pundit

What material has lowest electrical resistance?

Resistivity and Temperature Coefficient at 20 C
Material Resistivity ρ (ohm m) Ref
Silver 1.59 3
Copper 1.68 3
Copper, annealed 1.72 2
Aluminum 2.65 1

Lijiao Kindelan

Teacher

What is the resistance of gold?

At 20 °C, the resistivity of goldisapproximately 2.44 × 10−8ohm-mand steadily rises with increasing temperature. Thetemperaturecoefficient of a substance measures the amount ofincrease in theresistance of a 1 ohm sample of the conductorper degreerise in temperature (in Celsius).

Mimuna Ocheda

Teacher

What metal has the highest resistivity?

Nichrome has highest resistivity which isanon-magnetic alloy that is commonly made up of 80% nickeland20% chromium, has a resistivity ranging from1.10× 10−6 Ωm to 1.50 × 10−6Ωm(0.00000110 Ωm to 0.00000150 Ωm) .

Natura Zens

Teacher

Which material is the best conductor of electricity?

What Metals Make Good Conductors of Electricity?
  • Copper and Silver Are Most Common. Silver is the bestconductorof electricity because it contains a higher number ofmovable atoms(free electrons).
  • Aluminum Works Well, But Has Risks.
  • Gold Is Effective But Expensive.
  • Steel and Brass Alloys Have Special Uses.

Clyde Winter

Teacher

What is the resistance of copper?

For example, the resistivity of copperisgenerally given as: 1.72 x 10-8 Ωm.Theresistivity of a particular material is measured in unitsofOhm-Metres (Ωm) which is also affected bytemperature.Conductivity, σ is the reciprocal oftheresistivity.

Birama Mortinheira

Reviewer

What is the least conductive material?

The common metals that have the lowest resistivity(highestconductivity) are:
  • Silver.
  • Copper.
  • Gold.
  • Aluminum.
  • Zinc.
  • Brass.
  • Nickel.

Kaycee Mulligan

Reviewer

How much is a gram of tin?

Name Tin
Normal Phase Solid
Family Other Metals
Period 5
Cost 50 cents per pound or $8 per 100 grams

Citlalli Pilgrimm

Reviewer

Can Tin rust?

Tin is too expensive. Also, tin doesnot'rust', although it oxidizes. Your rust isironoxide. Galvanized steel is steel with a thin zinc coating,likelyhot-dip galvanization.

Ianire Khu

Reviewer

How much tin is left in the world?

About 35 countries mine tin throughouttheworld. Nearly every continent has animportanttin-mining country. Tin is a relativelyscarceelement with an abundance in the earth's crust of about 2parts permillion (ppm), compared with 94 ppm for zinc, 63 ppm forcopper,and 12 ppm for lead.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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10th February, 2020

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