Searched for, killed for, hoarded, worshiped, used as money , used to decorate man and building, this shiny yellow metal has fascinated mankind since long before the ancient Egyptians first began mining it. From gold objects made by Cro-Magnon man to today’s miniature gold pathways on electronic circuit boards, gold has been found useful for both it’s beauty and utility. Gold, with the symbol of AU, has the Atomic Number 79 and melts at 1063 degrees centigrade. Though usually too small to see, and rarely found, gold crystallizes into octahedral and dodecahedral cubic shapes. This crystallization is usually distorted into leaf-like shapes or eroded or melted into irregular shapes. Too soft to be used for making tools or weapons, gold was revered for it’s beauty and was thought to have magical powers within. Highly regarded by sun-worshippers it was thought to be a physical manifestation of the gods themselves.
Being the most malleable of all metals the use of gold for fashioning jewelry and decorative items has flourished. Pure gold can be hammered to one hundred thousandths of an inch without breaking or disintegrating. That is so thin that sunlight can shine through, and an ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire almost sixty miles long. Other metals are alloyed with gold to give it strength and to vary it’s color. “Green gold” or “red gold” are created by combining gold, copper, and silver, with the ratio of silver or copper determining which hue it will take. “White gold” is created by combining nickel and gold. Other metals are added to create even more variety.
Though pure gold is soft enough to work, it is extremely heavy. If you had one cubic foot of gold it would weigh one-half ton. But at today’s prices you could afford to have someone move it for you. The heaviest gold nugget found in the United States was 195 pounds and was found near the Stanislaus River in California. As heavy as gold is, it is so rare that only about 142,000 tons has been found since the beginning of recorded history.
Copper and gold were the first metals discovered by man and are the only non-white colored metals known. Although considered one of the rarest of our natural elements, gold is found on all of earth’s continents, and commercially mined on all but Antarctica. They say, “diamonds are forever,” well then gold is everlasting. No natural substances can destroy gold. Jewelry and gold artifacts buried by earthquakes, mudslides, sinking at sea and found hundreds to thousands of years later are discovered as bright and shiny as the day they were made. Able to survive water, heat, cold, and exposure to the air, gold will not rust, tarnish, or corrode. Being inert it will not cause skin irritations, so ladies, if your jewelry is giving you a rash, it’s not just gold!
Being of such high value it is believed that most of all gold found since first discovered is still in use. And besides that, it is also thought that seventy-five to eighty percent of the world’s gold supply still waits to be mined. Of all the gold currently in use three-fourths has been mined since 1910 so there is an enormous amount waiting to be found. It is estimated that there is over ten billion, that’s billion with a “b” tons of gold in the world’s oceans. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a cost effective way to gather it. That puts another slant on your ocean views.
Your body has minute amounts of gold in it also, even if you haven’t consumed any, though it is edible. During the middle ages a mixture of molten gold and crushed emeralds was drunk to ward off the bubonic plague. Even a past French study claimed the use of gold as beneficial in the treatment of some types of arthritis. Since it is edible it is used around the world in many types of culinary fare, especially dusted on bakery items, chocolates, fruit, and coffee or tea. Lest we forget, Danziger Goldwasser and Goldschlager , well known liquors.
The uses of gold in jewelry and for decorative purposes are obvious and well known. What is not usually seen are the numerous ways we depend on gold for our modern, everyday existence. Do you have a cell phone, a laptop, maybe a home computer? Pretty much any electrical device that has some electronic components has gold in it. Whether your new appliance or your computer modules in your automobile, gold is in it. Besides it’s ability to conduct electricity it is also used to reflect solar radiation and as a lubricant in our space program. This ability to reflect solar radiation is also used in the manufacture of special glass to reduce the heat and therefor the power consumption of buildings.
The modern uses of gold in medicine are quite interesting. Though there was a slowdown in the use of gold in dental fillings in the past decade, it’s use is trending upwards due to the concerns of the negative health effects of alternatives that were developed. Testing is the main medical use today but it is also used in some therapies for rheumatoid arthritis. Gold’s weight is brought to bear on an usual disease that will not allow the eyelids to completely close. A small amount of gold is inserted into the eyelids to add enough weight to allow them to close.
How can we discuss the facts about gold without mentioning the monetary uses thereof, we can’t. The first “gold” coin was actually electrum, a natural amalgam of silver and gold, that the Lydians used around 560 B.C. Soon after, the use of gold coins spread and different countries began minting there own gold coins. In 1284 Venice created the gold ducat, which became the most popular gold coin for over 500 years. Gold was a sign of wealth and power, King Ferdinand of Spain was quoted as saying, “Get gold, humanely if possible, but at all hazards, get gold.” Whether today or in the past, investors have always gone to precious metals, especially gold, as a hedge against inflation and to protect their wealth. The recent years surge in gold prices has been evidence of the financial community’s concern over the international financial state of affairs. Many governments around the world are even increasing their gold holdings. The Federal Reserve Bank in New York holds one-fourth of the world’s gold reserves, more than all the gold in Fort Knox. Most of it, however, belongs to foreign countries.
Up until recent years just about all gold has been recycled into new jewelry, industrial components, etc. or has been held as an investment. With the continuing proliferation of new computers and hand held electronic devises that is changing. Thousands of these devices are not being recycled as they are replaced by newer models. This lack of recycling may aid gold in it’s upward trend in cost.
Over four hundred years ago a tribe in Ecuador felt so over taxed by the Spanish governor that they poured molten gold down his throat. Also done by Rome and in the Spanish Inquisition. Kind of makes one think
References
www.geology.com
Sutherland,C.H.V.-Gold:It’s Beauty Power and Allure-1969
Klein,James-Gold Rush! The Young Prospector’s Guide To Striking It Rich-1998
Green,Timothy-The World of Gold-1993
www.historichwy49.com
www.prospectorsparadise.com
