Its durability, rarity, density, portability and luster decided that gold was chosen as money. It was used in jewelry, arts and coinage long before the beginning of recorded history. The uniqueness of gold made the shiny metal valuable and highly sought from the beginning of civilization. It is also used in dentistry, nanotechnology, biotechnology, medicine, aviation and the aerospace industry due to its material compatibility, inherent durability and proven track record of reliability. Gold is also a good conductor of heat and electricity, exceeded only by silver and copper, which is appreciated by the electronic industry (for example, smartphones or tablets contain small amounts of gold). The high malleability and ductility made gold widely used in the jewelry industry. One gram of it can be beaten into a sheet covering nearly a square meter. Thus, this feature explains why gold was portable and convenient to use as money and a store of wealth.Īlthough gold is called a heavy metal because of its density, it is actually soft and the most malleable of all metals. The high density of gold also implies that gold has high value per unit of weigh. The high density enabled it to be mechanically concentrated in river and beach environments and preserved in placer deposits, facilitating the search of gold through the panning process. Its density is 19.32 grams per cm3, meaning that it weighs about 19 times as much as an equal volume of water. Gold is produced in many countries, but most of it is currently mined in China, Australia, the U.S., Russia and South Africa.Īdditionally, gold is very dense. As of 2014, a total of 183,600 tons of gold was in existence above ground, which means that all of the world’s gold could be formed into a cube measuring 21 meters per side. Therefore, contrary to other metals, nearly all gold in the world that has ever been mined is still in existence. It is unaffected by air, heat, moisture and most solvents, being one of the least reactive chemical elements. Moreover, gold is practically indestructible, since it resists attacks by acids or corrosion and most other chemical reactions. It is the only metal being yellow with a high luster, to which it owes its Latin name ‘aurum’, meaning “shining dawn.” In the Earth’s crust, gold occurs 19 times less frequently than silver and 15 thousand times less frequently than copper. It belongs to noble metals and is a unique element. Chemically, gold is an element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79.
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