Not everybody is aware of this, but copper screws are little motors called actuators. An actuator is a motor that moves something. In this case, a screw is acting as a linear actuator. Linear actuators convert cyclical motion into linear, or straight movement. By comparison, a conventional gasoline-powered or electrical motor produces circular motion.
The shaft of the screw has spiral, or helical, threads. When drilled into soft material, a helical internal groove is created. When used on a wall, say to hold a picture, a rawl plug, or plastic sleeve, is used to give it extra strength. Their main use is to hang stuff on or hold stuff together.
A little-known use for a copper screw is as a contact screw in a tattoo machine. You can easily make these yourself in your garage or workshop because the metal is very soft. What you need is a length of thick wire, a die with the appropriate internal thread, a set of pliers, fine sandpaper that you get in a hobby shop, a vise and a small bottle of acidic gun bluing solution. The bluing solution, when used with iron metal, protects it from rust and corrosion. Here, it just makes your screw look pretty.
Copper (chemical symbol, Cu) has the atomic number 29. It has a high electrical and thermal conductivity. That is why it is used in wires and on the bottom of kitchen pans. It is soft and very malleable, which means it is easy to work with. That is why Cu is easy to form into a contact screw for use in a tattoo machine.
During the Roman era, Cu was mined in Cyprus. This is where it got its original name of cyprium, eventually shortened to cuprum, which is how it ended up with the chemical symbol Cu. It is a trace element in the human body, where it forms part of cytochrome, an important enzyme. Also, whereas humans use the red, iron-containing hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body and return carbon dioxide out to the lungs, crustaceans and molluscs use a the cupric compound, hemocyanin, which has a blue color.
In humans, cuprum is mainly found in bone, muscle and liver. Because cupric compounds have a bacteriocidal action, meaning it kills germs, it is used in fungicides and in wood preservatives. This is also why it is used sometimes to line incubators for use in tissue culture in the laboratory.
What else can be done with a copper screw except as a bacteriocide or in a tattoo machine. They are useful for screwing into wood, particularly if it is exposed to corroding elements. This is because the pretty, reddish metal is less prone to rusting than steel or iron. As a substitute for cuprum, zinc, nickel, cadmium or brass may be used.
Well, there you have it. Copper screws, tiny linear actuators that look red and pretty and kill germs. Because they are soft, you have to place them carefully. It is probably not a very good idea to use them to hold together metal panels used in passenger aircraft.
The shaft of the screw has spiral, or helical, threads. When drilled into soft material, a helical internal groove is created. When used on a wall, say to hold a picture, a rawl plug, or plastic sleeve, is used to give it extra strength. Their main use is to hang stuff on or hold stuff together.
A little-known use for a copper screw is as a contact screw in a tattoo machine. You can easily make these yourself in your garage or workshop because the metal is very soft. What you need is a length of thick wire, a die with the appropriate internal thread, a set of pliers, fine sandpaper that you get in a hobby shop, a vise and a small bottle of acidic gun bluing solution. The bluing solution, when used with iron metal, protects it from rust and corrosion. Here, it just makes your screw look pretty.
Copper (chemical symbol, Cu) has the atomic number 29. It has a high electrical and thermal conductivity. That is why it is used in wires and on the bottom of kitchen pans. It is soft and very malleable, which means it is easy to work with. That is why Cu is easy to form into a contact screw for use in a tattoo machine.
During the Roman era, Cu was mined in Cyprus. This is where it got its original name of cyprium, eventually shortened to cuprum, which is how it ended up with the chemical symbol Cu. It is a trace element in the human body, where it forms part of cytochrome, an important enzyme. Also, whereas humans use the red, iron-containing hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body and return carbon dioxide out to the lungs, crustaceans and molluscs use a the cupric compound, hemocyanin, which has a blue color.
In humans, cuprum is mainly found in bone, muscle and liver. Because cupric compounds have a bacteriocidal action, meaning it kills germs, it is used in fungicides and in wood preservatives. This is also why it is used sometimes to line incubators for use in tissue culture in the laboratory.
What else can be done with a copper screw except as a bacteriocide or in a tattoo machine. They are useful for screwing into wood, particularly if it is exposed to corroding elements. This is because the pretty, reddish metal is less prone to rusting than steel or iron. As a substitute for cuprum, zinc, nickel, cadmium or brass may be used.
Well, there you have it. Copper screws, tiny linear actuators that look red and pretty and kill germs. Because they are soft, you have to place them carefully. It is probably not a very good idea to use them to hold together metal panels used in passenger aircraft.
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