What is Gold

Au look golden! :)

 

There has always been a lot of hype around gold, and you shouldn't just be storing bars for the sake of assuming you're going to need to use them as currency. Gold is useless if it's not being used for technology. But it is fun to own gold bars for the art aspect of it.

So what is gold? 

Gold is a yellow to pale whitish-yellow metal with the formula Au. It has a metallic luster, a hardness of 2.5 to 3, and an atomic number of 79 on the periodic table.

The majority of gold produced nowadays is used in the production of jewelry. However, gold emerged as an essential industrial metal in the late twentieth century because of its better electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance.

Gold serves vital tasks in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines, and various other items. Although gold is essential in industry and the arts, it also has a unique position among commodities as a long-term store of wealth.

Gold primarily occurs in three types of deposits:

• Hydrothermal quartz veins and associated deposits in metamorphic and igneous rocks
• Volcanic-exhalative sulfide deposits
• Placer deposits - a type of mineral deposit in which grains of a valuable mineral like gold or rare earth are mixed with sand deposited by a river, stream, or glacier.

In hydrothermal deposits, gold is dispersed along the quartz veins with pyrite and other accessory minerals. In placer deposits, gold can occur as rounded grains and flakes or nuggets in placer deposits. Nuggets are almost exclusively hypogene in origin, mainly forming in veins, but can be somewhat modified in form and chemistry by weathering, erosion, and transport (Hough et al., 2007).

 

History:

Since prehistoric times, gold has been known and was one of the earliest metals to be mined, owing to its availability as nuggets or particles in stream beds. The first known gold mining operations date back to 2000 BC in Egypt. The death mask of Tutankhamen, who died in 1323 BC, contained 100 kg of gold. The royal graves of ancient Ur, which is modern Iraq, also had gold. Iraq and many middle eastern countries still have gold. Given how valuable gold is commercially for use in technology, it's rumored that many modern wars in the Middle East were for critical minerals such as gold rather than protecting the people.

Until recently, it was primarily regarded as a monetary metal, with the majority of bullion produced each year ending up in the vaults of government treasuries or central banks. Minting gold coins began around 640 BC in the Kingdom of Lydia (situated in what is now modern Turkey) using electrum, a native alloy of gold and silver. However, the first pure gold coins were minted in the reign of King Croesus, who ruled from 561–547 BC. If your society is still using gold primarily as a monetary asset, it suggests a significant lack of understanding of its true potential. You have to be really shortsighted if all you can do is mint gold coins instead of using gold to advance your technology. Given the fact that gold is the best metal for building electronics, it should be driving technological progress forward rather than sitting idle in vaults.

Gold's Unique Electrical Properties:

1. Excellent Conductivity: Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity, second only to copper and silver. This high conductivity ensures minimal energy loss during transmission.

2. Corrosion Resistance: Unlike other metals, gold does not tarnish or corrode, maintaining its conductivity over time. This makes it ideal for high-reliability applications like electronics and connectors.

3. Contact Resistance: Gold has a very low contact resistance, meaning that when used in electrical contacts, it ensures a stable and efficient electrical connection. This property is critical in applications requiring reliable signal transmission.

4. Ductility and Malleability: Gold is highly ductile and malleable, allowing it to be drawn into fine wires or thin coatings without breaking. This property is useful in intricate electrical applications where flexibility and precision are required.

5. Thermal Conductivity: Gold also has excellent thermal conductivity, helping to dissipate heat efficiently in electronic components and systems.

Given these properties, it is clear that gold's true value lies not in being hoarded in vaults, but in its application within advanced technologies. Technologically advanced civilizations need gold to enhance their technology, making it more reliable and efficient. From intricate electronics to critical components in aerospace and medical devices, gold's unique properties make it indispensable in driving innovation and progress.

Physical and Chemical Properties:

• Luster: Metallic
• Transparency: Opaque
• Color: Rich yellow, paling to whitish-yellow with increasing silver; blue & green in transmitted light (only thinnest folia [gold leaf])
• Streak: Shining yellow
• Hardness: 2.5 - 3
• Hardness: VHN10=30 - 34 kg/mm² - Vickers
• Hardness Data: Measured
• Tenacity: Malleable
• Cleavage: None Observed
• Fracture: Hackly
• Density: 15 - 19.3 g/cm³ (Measured) 19.309 g/cm³ (Calculated)

In summary, while gold has historical and cultural significance, its real potential is unlocked when it is used in technology. By leveraging its exceptional properties, we can develop more advanced, reliable, and efficient technological solutions that drive our civilization forward.

 

Relevant Links: 

Read more about gold below: 

https://www.mindat.org/min-1720.html

Mineral Commodity Profiles—Gold By W.C. Butterman and Earle B. Amey III

 https://www.mindat.org/a/best_gold

https://www.mindat.org/element/Gold