Category Metal & Non-Metals

Your parents encourage you to eat iron-rich foods like spinach, lentils and dry fruits. Some of you might have been advised by doctors to take iron tablets for iron deficiency. But why do we need iron in our diet? Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health in human beings and animals. So, all of us are iron boys and iron girls in this way!

Iron is one of the most abundant metals on Earth. This element is essential for plant and animal life. Plants need iron for the formation of chlorophyll, and for respiration. If a person’s blood does not have enough iron in it, he or she will become tired easily and suffer from frequent headaches. In fact, iron is vital for the production of haemoglobin, which gives blood its red hue.

Though it was known that iron has medicinal properties right from ancient times, the presence of iron in human blood was not discovered until the 19th century.

A chemical compound is obtained when two or more chemical elements are combined in definite proportions. The proportion of the elements is defined by weight. Some of the chemical compounds are useful to humankind.

Copper sulphate is one of the most important compounds of copper; it is used to refine copper. Copper sulphate has some agricultural uses as well. It is used as the base for many fungicides and also as an additive in animal feed. Copper oxide is used to make blue or green glazes in pottery. It is also used to colour artificial gems and glass.

Copper chloride is often used as a disinfectant. It is used for dyeing clothes and in textile printing too. Further it is used as a catalyst in many organic and inorganic reactions. While these compounds are useful to humans some of these compounds of copper can cause severe health problems as well.

Not only historical ages, but some revolutions too were named after metals. Here is the story of one such revolution.

In 1662, Russia was in a state of unrest. The people were exhausted after a lengthy war with Poland and Sweden. In addition to that, Russians were faced with frequent crop failures, as a result of which, heavy taxes were imposed by the Czar, or ruler of Russia. It was during this time that the Russian government decided to begin issuing copper money in large quantities instead of silver money, which was already in existence.

The replacement of silver coins was followed by a sharp rise in the prices of bread and other foodstuff. Needless to say, the people of Russia were infuriated by the changing social situations. They rioted in response to the changes on July 25 1662, but the Czar put down the riots with an iron hand. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were either sent to prison or exiled to Siberia.

Picture Credit : Google

Don’t be surprised to learn that copper has medicinal properties. In fact, copper is used in some of the traditional medicines across the world.

Many forms of copper and copper compounds, such as copper carbonate, copper silicate, copper oxide, copper sulphate and copper chloride were used throughout history for the treatment of disease. In ancient Egypt, copper was used to purify drinking water. Copper was also used to sterilize wounds, the treatment of headaches, trembling of the limbs, burns, and itching. The Greeks used copper for treating leg ulcers associated with varicose veins, while the Romans used it to purge stomach ache and treat ear and eye disorders.

Copper was chosen to make jewellery considering their health benefits. For many years, copper jewellery was worn as a remedy for various ailments, including arthritis. Many scholars across the world are still researching about the healing properties of copper.

Copper is one of the most used metals right from the beginning of civilizations. Copper had many qualities that were ideal for making tools, utensils and weapons.

This reddish brown metal is malleable and does not react with water or steam. It does not react with the oxygen in the air either, unless heated strongly. Copper is a good conductor of heat and electricity. That is why copper is used to make wires and utensils. Copper is used to make coins as well.

Copper is an indispensable metal in the electronic industry. In fact, almost all electrical devices rely on copper wiring because copper is inexpensive and highly conductive. Copper is mixed with other metals to make alloys with desirable properties.

The number of alloys made with copper is ever growing. Nowadays, copper is mixed with zinc, tin, aluminium, lead, silicon, manganese, cadmium and even chromium to make alloys.

The discovery of copper opened up new possibilities for humans. Copper exists in nature in the shape of nuggets. Gold and silver occur in the same shape, but they are very rare. Copper on the other hand is widely distributed and readily available.

Copper can easily be worked into different shapes. This was the reason why copper was preferred by the early humans. It was easy to make tools and weapons out of copper and they lasted longer than those made out of stone. They were much lighter than the stone toots as well. Moreover, copper tools could be sharpened again and again, so that they remained as good as new.

Early humans started with learning to extract copper from ores. Later their technology advanced; they began mixing copper with zinc to create an alloy called bronze, thus ushering a period known as the Bronze Age. 

Picture Credit : Google