9781422285541

10 Copper

A demonstration of a very early telephone. Phones only became useful once they could be connected to other phones by strong copper wire.

In 1877, Thomas Doolittle, a wire maker from Waterbury, Connecticut, tried to fix the problem. He took soft copper wire and heated it. He then passed the wire through a series of dies (specialized tools that can shape and mold metal) that increased the wire’s tensile strength until it stretched without breaking. Doolittle’s new wire was strong and sturdy, perfect to use as a telephone transmission line. Soon, Doolittle’s wire connected telephones in cities hundreds of miles away. The wire was one of the most stunning developments of the Industrial Age, and along with Bell’s telephone, it helped revolutionize the world. In fact, copper has arguably changed the world more so than any other element. People mold the metal to make bells, weapons, clocks, plumbing fixtures, bolts, and utensils. Electricians run miles of copper wire to electrify skyscrapers. Airplanes, missiles, automobiles, and satellites are packed with copper wire and circuits. People who own swimming pools even use copper in the form of copper sulfate, an inorganic compound that kills algae and bacteria.