A few trivial & fun facts about GOLD.
This guide is not so much about knowledge, rather it’s about a few little known facts and trivia about gold…
something to bring up at a dinner party.
For instance did you know that….
ALL the gold ever mined would fill a cube approx. 20 mtrs x 20 mtrs x 20 mtrs.
One ounce of gold measures about 12mm x 12mm x 12mm or x 1/2'” x 1/2” x 1/2 inch. Tiny for the weight.
It is 19 times heavier than water. Lead is 11 times heavier than water.
A cubic foot of gold weighs about 1/2 ton. Just think about that for a moment. That’s the size of a ruler, cubed.
It is the 58th most abundant element on the Earth out of the 92 natural elements found.
1 ounce (31.1gms) of gold can be drawn into a wire 5 miles, that’s about 8 kilometrers.
You can beat 1 ounce of gold to a sheet of over 160 square feet and
that light would shine through that sheet. 1 gram can be flattened into
a sheet 1 meter square.
That sheet of gold would be one hundred thousandth of an inch thick.
Historically a carat was a measure of weight based on the weigh of a carob seed which in nature has a very consistent weight.
It has been estimated that 75% of the total historical world production of gold has happened after 1910.
The word ‘gold’ comes from the old English word ‘geolu’ or ‘gelo’ meaning yellow.
Chemically gold is almost chemically inert and is called a Noble
Metal because of that fact. Very few chemicals can attack it, so that’s
why it keeps it shine even when buried for 1000’s of years. Aqua Regis
(Kings water) is an acid that will dissolve it. It is a mixture of
concentrated Nitric and Hydrochloric Acids. There are a few Cyanide
compounds that will also dissolve it and are used in gold refining.
Trust me, you don’t want to go near either.
Because of it colouring effect it is used to colour glass. Those
lovely Ruby and Cranberry glass items you see owe their beautiful red
to minute amounts of dissolved gold.
Yellow gold (eg 9K or 18K)…produced using silver, copper, zinc & others
Rose gold…produced using more copper and others
White gold…produced using mainly nickel or palladium and or zinc, & others
Green gold…produced using more zinc & others
Blue gold…produced using iron & others
Purple gold…produced by using aluminium & others
The largest gold nugget known to be found was called ‘The Welcome
Stranger’. Found in Dunolly, Victoria, Australia, weighed a massive
2280 troy ounces or 70 kilograms.
The largest gold nugget still in existence is ‘The Hand of Faith’
also found near Dunolly. It weighs 875 troy ounces or over 27
kilograms. It is also the largest nugget ever found with a metal
detector. Just imagine hearing your detector go of, digging down and
finding that baby.
Gold, a truly noble metal with some remarkable properties. A pleasure to hold and behold.
SEE MY OTHER GUIDES FOR OTHER INFORMATION ON JEWELLERY.
Vote as appropriate.
© 2008 Edward Vabolis
Guide ID: 10000000004064112Guide created: 27/07/07 (updated 05/11/09)
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