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Background.
Metals constitute the largest group of elements in
the Periodic Table. Artists and artisans have
been drawn to the beauty, malleability, and strength of the pure metals.
The brilliant colors of metallic compounds made them the natural choice
as the pigments in paints Chemistry 103 students explore the reactions
of copper to |
| make
a pigment, to make jewelry, and to produce etching plates suitable
for graphic artists to use in printmaking. Students also compare the
properties of copper with
those of aluminum and zinc. Copper exposed
to the natural environment corrodes to produce the green patina seen
on weathervanes, such as our friendly weathered
pig, and the gutters of many Wellesley College buildings. Alloys,
solid solutions of metals, of copper such as bronze are more resistant
to weathering and so are widely used in outdoor statuary. |
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| Deborah
Butterfield. Pensive, 1996 Bronze. |
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Experiments
1. Reactions of Copper - Downlaod PDF: Reactions
of Copper
2. Electrochemistry - Download PDF:
Electroplating, Coloring and Etching
of Metals
3. Synthesis and characterization of malachite (coming
soon)
Links
1. Periodic tables on the Web:
http://www.wellesley.edu/Chemistry/chem120/ptlinks.html
2. All about copper from the Copper Development Association:
http://www.copper.org/
3. Etching in the Printmaking Studio at Wellesley College:
http://www.wellesley.edu/Art/ARTS212/html/Autobio.html
4. Sculpture:
a. UCLA Sculpture Garden:
http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/collections/
sculpture_garden_index.htm
b. Saint Gaudens Historic Site:
http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%20
CD- HTML/Index/index.htm
c. August Rodin Web Images:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/rodin_auguste.html
d. Henry Moore Web Images:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/moore_henry.html
5. Malachite, copper-containing pigment, from Webexhibits on pigments:
http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/
overview/malachite.html
Student
Exhibition: Metals
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