Copper greater strength than monocrystalline forms. The softness of copper partly explains its high electrical conductivity (59.6×10 S/m) and high thermal conductivity, second highest (second only to silver) among pure metals at room temperature. This is because the resistivity to electron transport in metals at room temperature originates primarily from scattering of electrons on thermal vibrations of the lattice, which are relatively weak in a soft metal. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3.1×10 A/m of cross-sectional area, above which it begins to heat excessively. Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a
Electrical resistivity and conductivity individual matrix elements are not necessarily reciprocals of one another; for example, "σ" may not be equal to 1/"ρ". This can be seen in the Hall effect, where formula_34 is nonzero. In the Hall effect, due to rotational invariance about the z-axis, formula_35 and formula_36, so the relation between resistivity and conductivity simplifies to: If the electric field is parallel to the applied current, formula_34 and formula_40 are zero. When they are zero, one number, formula_41, is enough to describe the electrical resistivity. It is then written as simply formula_9, and this reduces to the simpler expression. According to elementary