Gold

Gold

Symbol	Au
Atomic Number	79
Atomic Mass	196.9655 g.mol−1
Discovered by	Unknown

What is Gold?

• Gold is a soft bright, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal with a slightly reddish yellow color when available in mass. But when divided finely it becomes black, purple or ruby.
• Being one of the most malleable and ductile metal, 28g of gold can be beaten into 300 square feet of it.
• A major share of this soft metal is mined and are handed to us as gravels or quartz veins or pyrites deposits.

Uses of Gold

• The metal is mainly used to manufacture jewelry, glass and different parts in electronics items.
• Gold can be made into thread and used in embroidery.
• A thin layer of this metal is used on the windows of a large building for reflecting the heat of sun rays.
• Gold is also used in medicine. Its radioactive isotope Au-198 is used for the treatment of the tumor.

Properties of Gold

• Being very good conductors of heat and electricity, the metal does not get affected by air and most reagents.
• The element is corrosion resistant and is present in deposits of alluvium and veins.
• Most common gold compounds include chloroauric acid and auric chloride.
• To provide more strength to the metal, another soft metal is alloyed to it.

Certain Facts About Gold

• The metal consumes around 75 % of the jewelry across the world.
• The element is abundant on the planet at 0.03g per 1000kg background level.
• The atomic symbol of gold ‘Au’ comes from the Latin word “aurum”.
• A gold layer (thin coating) is done on astronaut helmets to protect them from UV radiation.
• The price of the metal is determined through trading in the gold.