79 Au Gold
Transition metal, mass: 196.97 u, 1 stable isotope (197), abundance rank (earth/space): 76/69Click image to magnify. Ultrapure gold leaves. The leaves are 0.5 - 1 cm long.


Gold is a very rare and inert element and therefore is used since ages for jewellery and investment. It is the most malleable and ductile pure metal, so you need only very small amounts to give another material a gold plated surface. In jewellery, the very soft metal mostly is mixed with other metals like copper, to make it harder. Gold naturally only occurs in small amounts, so for its exploitation often large areas of nature are destroyed.


Left: Byzantinian gold coin of emperor Justin I., Ostrogothic mint, pure gold, 2 cm, 4.5 grams. Inscription: DN IVSTI-NVS PF A / VICTORI-A AVGGG A COMOB
Right: Celtic gold coin of the Iceni, from about the year 40 BCE. Probably high copper ratio, front and back side, 1.1 cm in size, 1 gram weight.


Left: Gold connector of an USB plug. This is a very thin layer of gold. Gold is a good electrical conductor, protects from oxidation and gives an impression of high quality.
Right: 5 grams gold bar.


Left: Gold crystal, pure gold, 0.7 cm.
Right: A victorian cranberry glass button. The red color is caused by colloidal gold, which was added to the molten glass. Colloidal gold consists of gold particels with a size of nanometers, the small particle size changes the color of the metal. The diameter of the button is 1.7 cm.
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Page last changed on February 22. 2018
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