Interesting Facts About Gold

Facts about gold have always been interesting whether it was a thousand years ago when gold was really discovered or today, when the importance of gold is truly understood. To begin with, the term ‘gold’ is derived from an old English Anglo-Saxon word – ‘geolu’ which literally means ‘yellow’. This is what makes this metal popularly known as yellow metal.

Gold was traditionally used for making ornaments. Later it began to be used as currency. With the change in times, gold is now a stockpiled commodity. Gold has various interesting properties. It has a chemical symbol of Au which is an abbreviation of its Latin name – Aurum. The atomic weight of gold is 79 and it is a part of the transitional metals category in the periodic table. The best thing about gold is that it is the only metal that does not corrode or is prone to rust formation. This is the reason why gold is referred to as noble metal.

Gold can be easily recycled and recycling it will not destroy the metal or cause any deterioration in its quality. Gold is a good conductor of electricity and is hence used for various industrial purposes. Since gold is softer than other metals and is highly reflective, it is considered to be a good conductor of thermal energy. Gold melts at 1064 degrees Centigrade or 1947 Fahrenheit. The volume of gold weighs 19.3 times more than the volume of water. Gold is approximately 3 to 7 times heavier than other metals of same volume.

Till this day, 88000 tons of gold has been extracted from the crust of the Earth but there is still more to be discovered. Gold is also used as a medical aid for people suffering with rheumatoid arthritis. Liquefied gold is injected in to the muscles of these patients as a part of their treatment.

Some of the other interesting facts about gold is that one cubic foot of gold weighs almost half a ton and about sixty miles long wire can be made from one ounce of gold. Sun light can shine through gold if it is hammered into thin strips.

There are several little things about gold that are quite intriguing other than those that are mentioned herein. Gold is hence the most malleable and ductile metal. Facts about gold have always fascinated everyone.

By: Alan Stables

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Alan Stables has been investing in gold since July 2011. He does that through buying gold biscuits in denominations of 50 and 100 grams, and receives a monthly hibah of 1.5%. Alan does this through malaysia gold. It will also soon be possible to do this through thai gold.