Copper: Humanity’s first and most important future metal
Millions of feet of copper wiring will be required for strengthening the world’s power grids, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes more are needed to build wind and solar farms.
Since gold has slid nearly 20% since hitting a high of $1,900 in September, maybe the precious metal can get a lift from some “magical necklaces” worn by baseball players.
Necklaces that contain gold and titanium are starting to catch on with professional athletes who believe wearing them can help improve their performance.
Phiten markets the necklaces, as well as wrist bands, athlete’s tape and other products. The company started in Japan whose founder, Yoshihiro Hirata, was seeking ways to alleviate chronic pain. The company says that metals like gold and titanium are broken down into microscopic particles dispersed in water and then added to its materials.
There was no mention on the company’s website about how much metal Phiten’s products actually contain.
The necklaces seem to follow the lineage of copper bracelets and other forms of magnet therapy, an alternative medicine treatment that claims health benefits from magnetic fields created by metal.
Ars Technica runs a thorough take down of Phiten’s “magical necklaces”:
Having metal near or in contact with your skin isn’t going to change the flow of any energy unless there happens to be electrified wires hooked up to that metal. It isn’t going to work through magnetism, either (although very similar claims were made about magnetic bracelets). Titanium and gold aren’t magnetic. And, even if they were, they’d be too weak
Image from Phiten’s YouTube video
