GOLD FACTS
- Chemical Symbol: AU
- Atomic Number: 79
- Atomic Weight: 196.966569
- Melting Point: 1337.33 K (1064.18°C or 1947.52°F)
- Boiling Point: 3129 K (2856°C or 5173°F)
- Density: 19.282 grams per cubic centimeter
- Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
- Element Classification: Metal
Gold is a rare and remarkable metal. It is virtually indestructible and it will never rust or tarnish. Gold, the only yellow metal, derives its name from the Old English word for yellow, 'geolu.' Due to its rarity, gold has long been considered a symbol of the wealth and power of its possessor.
No other metal is as ductile or as malleable as gold and it has been used as ornaments for kings, for global currencies, and in modern times, a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications.
Gold's many unique properties have secured it a central role in history and human development:
- Gold has been prized by people since the earliest times for making statues and icons and also for jewelry to adorn their bodies.
- The gold mines of the Minoan civilization of Crete produced the first known gold cable chain.
- The first gold coins used as currency were produced in Lydia, part of what is now Turkey.
- The coffin of Egypt’s King Tut was created from approximately 2,224 pounds of solid gold.
- Nobody knows who the first gold miner was, but an estimated 167,000 tons of gold have been mined throughout human history. Sixty-five percent of this total has been mined since 1950.
- The world’s largest gold nugget ever found by a gold miner in the United States weighed 195 pounds and was found during the California gold rush.
- About 80 percent of that gold production was used to make jewelry.
- Each year approximately 660 tons of gold are used in telecommunications, information technology, medical treatments, and various industrial applications.
- A single ounce of the metal can be drawn into a wire five miles long.
- Gold can be hammered into sheets so thin that light can pass through.
- Gold is also an excellent conductor of thermal energy.
- It is used in many electronic processes to draw heat away from delicate instruments.
- The space shuttle’s main engine nozzle is made from a 35% gold alloy.
- Gold is a vital component of many electrical devices, including computers, cars, cell phones, and spacecraft because of its high electrical conductivity.
- Gold has been used in medicine since 1927, when it was found to be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Gold has been used in dentistry for fillings and false teeth for centuries.
- Because it is non-toxic and biologically benign, Gold is perfect for many medical uses.
- Gold pellets are injected into the body to help obstruct the spread of prostate cancer in men.
- Gold is also used in lasers, which allow surgeons to seal wounds quickly or treat once-inoperable heart conditions.
Gold’s beauty and rarity, and its unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties, have made it invaluable to humankind.
