95.6% copper a covid killer

The knowledge of working with copper and its alloys goes back at least 7,000 years. Ancients knew that copper healed infections, but they didn’t know why. Copper kills germs because it has an extra electron it its atomic makeup. The outermost orbit electron reacts with things that land on it, killing the germs quickly. Ions blast apart bacterial cell membranes and the coatings that protect viruses, rendering them inert. Most viruses and bacteria succumb within minutes. COVID’s stubbornness only buys it extra time. Within a few hours it too is rendered harmless. The antiviral properties of copper surfaces never wear off.

The only reason copper alloys fell to iron and steel was hardness and durability. Today ancient copper may provide another line of defense against a modern illness.