Rank
| CPK
(jmol) | Symbol
| Z
| %
Mass | Picture
| Electron configuration
|
| 16 |  | Cu | 29 | 0.0003 |  | (add) |
In chemistry, copper, symbol Cu, atomic number 29, is a metallic element, row four of the periodic table, the sixteenth most abundant element in a human, comprising 0.0003 percent by mass of the composition of one human molecule. [1]
Human molecular formula
The position of the element copper in the average human molecular formula is as follows:
CE27HE27OE27NE26PE25SE24CaE25KE24ClE24NaE24MgE24FeE23FE23
ZnE22SiE22CuE21BE21IE20SnE20MnE20SeE20CrE20NiE20MoE19CoE19VE18
Function
Involved in the synthesis of hemoglobin, collagen, and the neurotransmitter noradrenalin. Is an important blood antioxidant, prevents the rancidity of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and helps cell membranes remain healthy.
Schopenhauer
In German natural philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's 1844 The World as Will and Representation, Volume II, he cites German chemist Justus Liebig's description of the reaction of damp copper Cu in air containing carbonic acid H2CO3, to argue rather cogently that the: [2]
"The will of the copper, claimed and preoccupied by the electrical opposition to the iron, leaves unused the opportunity that presents itself for its chemical affinity for oxygen and carbonic acid, behaves exactly as the will does in a person who abstains from an action to which he would otherwise feel moved, in order to perform another to which he is urged by a stronger motive."
This logic, of course, being an expanded version of the his mentor and associate German polymath Johann Goethe and his 1809 Elective Affinities.
References
1. Thims, Libb. (2008). The Human Molecule (issuu) (preview) (Google Books) (docstoc) (pgs. 52-55). LuLu.
2. (a) Schopenhauer, Arthur. (1818). The World as Will and Representation, Volume I (Elective Affinity, pgs. 110, 122, 148), trans. E.F.J. Payne. Dover, 1966.
(b) Schopenhauer, Arthur. (1844). The World as Will and Representation, Volume II (Goethe, 41+ pgs; Elective Affinity, pgs. 174, 297-98, 386, 396; inorganic will, pg. 297), trans. E.F.J. Payne. Dover, 1969.
External links
● Copper – Wikipedia.
