I wouldn't think so.
because if it does, then switch contact points would never have been made of copper.
Yes they are but copper contacts are most commonly plated with silver or tin to prevent oxidation. While copper is an excellent electrical conductor as well as heat conductor it oxides pretty fast. Bare copper electrical contacts aren't commonly seen except in closed enclosures.
Copper & aluminum is the most common metals used for electrical wire. Aluminum wire is not commonly seen as is is usually used for very large wires. Copper is more common but it is also common for copper strands in wire to be silver plated for the same reason but not always. Like most of the wiring in your home are solid copper wires. But they are usually terminated with a "permanent" connection like a screw or in most other application crimped like in automotive. The "permanent" connection will not be prone to oxidiation as fast as a momentary contact.
I have not disassembled my Reos yet (they're so well built I may not have to in a while) but the two areas I can can see where a copper connection would be used are the ground spring & the firing pin/plate. IMHO even a copper alloy would not work well for these parts as copper is too soft to provide a spring action for parts so small & thin. It does not make
sense to make the atomizer connection out of copper as again copper is soft & can easily be stripped. Not wise to use copper here since the threads will be used quite often.
I suspect the firing pin (or whatever Robert calls it) is made of some type of stainless or steel due the spring action that's required from it. And the ground spring is probably nickel plated steel. The ground spring could be gold plated but I highly doubt it would provide any noticeable performance improvements. Hearing that the firing pin can have an oxidation problem it may benefit from a corrosion preventative coating but not necessary as long as the user maintains their
mod as recommended by Robert. IMO Robert made a good decision to use what he did. Sure some people may not have a big issue with copper oxidizing fast (if copper was a suitable metal for those parts) depending on the environment they live in but Robert has no control on that & must take into account for most climates. Just think if Robert were to sell his
mods with the disclaimer stating the mods could only be used in dry climates.
Even if copper would work in the areas mentioned, the benficial properties of copper in such a low current application is not worth the additional cost. The cost of copper just keeps rising.
