Some interesting facts about Gold.

Some interesting facts about Gold.

Gold is the only metal that is yellow or "golden." Other metals may develop a yellowish color, but only after they have oxidized or reacted with other chemicals.

Nearly all the gold on Earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet over 200 million years after it formed.

The element symbol for gold—Au—comes from the old Latin name for gold, aurum, which means "shining dawn" or "glow of sunrise." The word gold comes from the Germanic languages, originating from the Proto-Germanic gulþ and Proto-Indo-European ghel, meaning "yellow/green." The pure element has been known since ancient times.

Gold is extremely ductile. A single ounce of gold (about 28 grams) can be stretched into a gold thread 5 miles (8 kilometers) long. Gold threads can even be used in embroidery.

Malleability is a measure of how easily a material can be hammered into thin sheets. Gold is the most malleable element. A single ounce of gold can be beaten into a 300-square-foot sheet. A sheet of gold can be made thin enough to be transparent. Very thin sheets of gold may appear greenish blue because gold strongly reflects red and yellow.

Although gold is a heavy, dense metal, it is generally considered nontoxic. Gold metal flakes may be eaten in foods or drinks, although it is a common allergen for some.

Pure elemental gold is 24 karats, while 18-karat gold is 75 percent pure gold, 14-karat gold is 58.5 percent pure gold, and 10-karat gold is 41.7 percent pure gold. The remaining portion of the metal usually used in gold jewelry and other items is silver, but items can also consist of other metals or a combination of metals, such as platinum, copper, palladium, zinc, nickel, iron, and cadmium.

916 gold is nothing but 22 carat gold. 916 is basically used to denote the purity of gold in the final product, i.e. 91.6 grams of pure gold in 100 gram alloy. The figure 916 is basically 22/24 (22 carat by 24 carat). In a similar manner, 958 gold is 23 carats (23/24) and 750 gold is 18 carats (18/24).

Gold has many uses aside from its monetary and symbolic value. Among other applications, it is used in electronics, electrical wiring, dentistry, medicine, radiation shielding, and in coloring glass.

High-purity metallic gold is odorless and tasteless. This makes sense since the metal is unreactive. Metal ions confer flavor and odor to metallic elements and compounds.

11.2 million – If all of the existing gold in the world was pulled into a 5 micron thick wire, it could wrap around the world 11.2 million times.

37 degrees – The temperature of the human body is 37 degrees centigrade. Gold’s conductivity of heat means that it rapidly reaches body temperature – one of the reasons it has become valued for jewelry.

1885 – While digging up stones to build a house, Australian miner George Harrison found gold ore near Johannesburg in 1885, beginning the South African gold rush.

90% - Over 90 per cent of the world’s gold has been mined since the California Gold Rush.

80 cm – The largest gold coin ever created was cast by the Perth Mint in 2012. Weighing one tonne and measuring 80 cm in diameter, it surpassed the previous record, a 2007, C$1 million coin which was just 53 cm across.