i was coming home from work and was wondering... why is steel the dominating metal for building? why not other metals like copper? is it like weaker then steel. cant be more expensive right? or is it because better conductor? or not as much? or when it grows old gets that weird smell? but ya the main question is why is there no copper buldings. only steel?
The points made about strength are certainly true and are the primary reason Cu is not the material of choice for building construction. That said, there are some structural applications where Cu or Cu alloys are used in preference to Fe and steel. Look at fittings on sail boats, bronze holds up to saltwater corrosion way better than steel. Copper is a natural biocide. Copper has been used for roofing for hundreds of years. Prior to the invention of steel (development of technology to smelt Fe), the highest tech materials available were Cu alloys (this was the Bronze Age). As in almost all engineering endeavors, it is an issue of trade-offs. You can certainly use materials that are not as strong, you just have to use more of them, larger I beams, thicker sheets, etc.
Steel is used because of its stiffness and comparatively good strength to weight ration. Copper is not used because it is more expensive and has low stiffness and strength by comparison to steel, even when alloyed as brass copper based metal is weaker.
Copper is more malleable, i.e., possesses tendency of bending into sheets easily. If a building is constructed from copper, it would have devastating consequences as it would have the tendency to bend. The potential risk will increase with the height. Moreover, copper is a good conductor of electricity, hence, the building itself will act as a lightning conductor. This is an obvious danger. The ingredients of steel are readily available.
It is a much softer metal. And it can be expensive sometimes. But also it is highly conductive. So if you make a building out of copper it is more likely to be struck by lightning.
copper is not as strong as steel, and is difficult to work (weld). Strength though is the main reason, and steel is the clearly better material. By the way I hope we are talking about the building structural frame right? Copper is widely used to cover building exteriors. It does not rust and gains a nice color once it has been exposed to the weather.
