All that glistens is not gold!

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All that glistens is not gold!

Introduction

Gold (Au) has a long and complex history. From gold’s first discovery, it has symbolized wealth and guaranteed power. Gold has caused obsession in men and nations, destroyed some cultures and gave power to others. 

The properties of gold which makes itself desirable are that it is an extremely un-reactive metal and can be dug out as it is: pure gold. Other metals on the other hand were found in ores and ways of purifying them had yet to be discovered. Gold is also very rare- (0.000000003) in the Earth's crust is gold- it is also one of the noble metals.

But today gold is advertised by its many colours and its number of carats- but how is this colour produced? And what really are “carats”?

What is worth more pure gold or its alloy with cheaper metals?

Pure Gold

Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal- a single gram can be flattened into a sheet of one square meter. Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Most reactants which usually react and form strong bonds don’t react with gold. There are some disadvantages of pure gold whatsoever:

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  • Weight
  • Price
  • Rarity- gold is usually found as tiny nuggets and most are even too small to see with the naked eye.
  • It is too malleable – it can be shaped freely by hand, this isn’t suitable for jewellery.

Another useful property of pure gold is that it is non-toxic and non-irritating when ingested and may be eaten- it is a component of some alcoholic drinks.

Alloying

Alloying is the combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal. Alloys are usually prepared to improve the properties of a metal ...

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