Gold has some of the most unusual physical properties of any element on our planet. And it also happens to be one of the rarest naturally occurring metals on Earth.
Is gold unusually durable? Yes, as webelements.com article points out:
Gold is both malleable and ductile. Gold is a heavy metal (density 19.3 g cm-3) and one gram of gold can be hammered out into a thin sheet of gold a metre in area, and just 230 atoms or so thick.
Alternately, one gram of gold can be drawn into a thin wire 165 metres long and just 20 micrometres thick.
Gold is soft as well for a metal:
Gold is quite soft. It can usually be scratched by a penny. Its melting point is 1,064.76°C (1,948.57°F) and its boiling point is about 2,700°C (4,900°F).
Small amounts of gold, down to only a few cents of value, can be recorded, stored, or transferred to another user on a digital platform such as Goldmoney’s. And since gold is so dense (19.3 grams per cubic centimeter!), only a small amount of it in the real world can be used to represent a relatively large amount of purchasing power or savings.
Gold, therefore, is said to have extreme value density, meaning even a small physical quantity of it represents a large amount of money and purchasing power. A small 10 gram gold cube, for example, costs approximately US $400 as this article goes to press.
You have probably noticed that gold does not rust like other metals. This is because gold is mostly unreactive with gases and liquids it is exposed to, so a coin or bullion bar can be left for thousands of years in a vault without the possibility of it rusting or eroding away! For this reason, discovered shipwrecks are often a cause of excitement among treasure hunters, as any gold found on board is liable to be in perfect condition… not rusted away.
Other interesting physical properties of gold include its famous luster (95% reflectivity) and incredible weight—just a one cubic foot block of the precious metal weighs more than half a ton.
Want to learn more about gold’s physical properties and its use in commerce—both past and present? Head over to Goldmoney to learn more about gold as money, and: Open Free GoldMoney Holding Today
My objective is to share with you my views on gold, which in recent decades has become one of the world’s most misunderstood asset classes. This low level of knowledge about gold creates a wonderful opportunity and competitive edge to everyone who truly understands gold and money.
