Copper Wire, Copper Water Pipes, Pennies,
Whether an element has an advantage or a disadvantage depends what you want to use it for. A specific element - such as carbon - can be very good for some uses, and not good at all for other uses.
There are many important uses for copper. Copper can be used in pipes and in wiring as a few examples.
you can make copper stuff
Some of coppers uses in the scientific community are
Electrical wiring (very good conductor) and plumbing are the two that come into mind.
The most commonly used element other than copper used for electrical wire is aluminum: It is not quite as good a conductor of electricity per unit volume as copper, but is much less dense, so that it is a better of conductor per unit mass density, an advantage in some uses. If high electrical conductivity* is not needed, iron or its alloy steel is most commonly used because is cheap and has good mechanical properties. ______________ This does not mean that iron and steel are nonconductors!
Electricity Wires where it's a good conductor & it's use to make some mechanical parts.
Because electrons can easily move in copper, it is widley used in elctric wires.
Copper was good, mainly because it doesn't rust. Now there many pipes in plastics such as PEX, which are infinitely better than copper. Nobody smart uses copper any more.
Most cookware uses aluminum as a thermal conductor. - - - - - The element that conducts heat the best is Copper. The finest pans are made from it, but they must be lined with tin before use because bare copper reacts with acidic foods.
Copper is a very good conductor of electricity, and is easy to shape.
Since copper is in demand and is an expensive resource, it can make a good basis for an economy if the government uses it wisely.