Suggest reasons for using copper rather than another metal, such as lead, zinc, and iron?
lead gets into the water, copper wont rust, i am not sure about zinc or iron but cost and workability may factor in.
Copper is cheap, safe, and workable. At one time pipes were made of lead, and people were poisoned. Also, copper is fairly malleable, so it can easily be made into pipes.
Because copper is supposed to be a best metel,in indian tradition water in copper is used for worship in the temples and also used to drink in the early morning, it is because copper has no harmfull reaction with the water molecules and thus it remain uneffected .
Copper is a semi-noble metal that does not react with (pure) water. Copper ions act as cellular poison for microorganisms in concentrations that are considered harmless to (adult) humans. Finally, copper has good mechanical properties that make it a good choice for pipes.
