Copper
A reddish metal with superb electrical conductivity.
Inside the Copper atom
Switch between Bohr and Quantum Cloud modes to compare a simple teaching model with a more realistic probability-based view, and follow the guided tour to explore the Copper atom step by step.
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d10 4s1
A neutral Copper atom has 29 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 1358 K (1085 °C)
- Boiling point
- 2835 K (2562 °C)
- Density
- 8.96 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 1.9 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 135 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 745 kJ/mol
- Category
- Transition metals
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- Antiquity
- Discovered by
- Known since antiquity
- Origin of name
- Latin 'cuprum', from Cyprus.
Notable uses
Electrical wiring, plumbing, and brass and bronze alloys.
Where Copper comes from
Supernovae
Sits just past the iron peak, where explosive burning and neutron capture in massive stars both contribute.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 29
- Atomic mass
- 63.546
- Category
- Transition metals
- Group · Period
- 11 · 4
- Block
- d-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 1