Oxidation of copper

I posted this elsewhere and got no response, so thought i'd try here which seems a more appropriate group, any reccomendations for posting would also be appreciated:

Whilst looking into OFC speaker cables (and finding out that they are really a waste of money) i came across sa few places that claimed OFC copper was less prone to oxidation due to it's oxygen content being practically zero. However i think this is absolute rubbish as the oxidisation is caused by air and water in contact with the surface and has nothing to do with the internal content of oxygen in the actual metal.

Incidentally i believe the real reason for using OFC free is it's slightly lower resistance, but thi s is so small it would only be noticeable over very long distances (over 40M) or where the equivalent copper cable was to thin for the required current. Also note that as speaker wire is normally sheathed and soldered to connectors (or should be) oxidisation is no concern really anyway.

But i'm not really interested in discussing this, i want to know, is there any truth in the comments that OFC doesn't oxidise as bad as normal copper, i can't find anything to substantiate this claim (nor anything disprove it except what i have been taught and learnt from books). If anyone has proof it would appreciated as long as it's from a trustworthy source and not Joe Blogs blog !

There is a lot of cr*p about speaker and power wires for high quality audio. One of my books on marketing calls it one of the truly great scams of the century.

Another great scam was selling center weights for CD's to eliminate "wobble" when the CD revolution got under way in the 1970's. The theory was you had to buy these center weights for every CD and carefully place them exactly so that the CD wouldn't "Wobble" like off center LP records could or would.

You could make a good case for selected impurities to interfere with the motion of oxygen. For example, you could claim that chrome plating would impart "Stainless" oxidation resistance as it does in steels by forming a nearly impermeable Cr2O3 protective layer. You could try to claim that impurities that would like to react with oxygen (chromium, aluminum, titanium or several others) would "trap" the Oxygen at or near the surface, and slow down or prevent the core of the wire from being oxidized.

Most of all, be aware that Monster Cable has been hit with false advertising claims before.

Just expect that the gullible will do or say anything to protect themselves from knowing how foolishly they were taken in.

formatting link

ENR), filed a complaint on January 3, 2003, against Monster Cable Products, Inc. for false advertising claims regarding its product, Monster PowerCells alkaline batteries. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, Illinois. In addition to damages, the suit also sought an order that Monster Cable cease using the false advertising claims.

Monster PowerCells alkaline batteries. Energizer's complaint alleges that the battery-performance claims contained on the packaging and web site, including claims of "Maximum Power," "Last Longer than standard alkalines" and "25% More Power Than Standard Alkalines," are false based on independent testing results. The independent testing showed that Monster PowerCells are not superior to standard alkaline batteries on the market, including Energizer's alkaline batteries.