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Gold

The Shiny Gold and Its Uses

Gold Gold has a symbol Au in the periodic table of elements. It is a kind of metal with an atomic number of 79. It would be interesting to know that its name actually came for an old English word, which meant “yellow.” The symbol originated from the Latin word aurum, which literally means “shining dawn.” No wonder its primary characteristic is shininess.

Gold is referred to as a kind of “transition metal” and is very ductile and malleable. Together with silver, it is considered a precious kind of metal. Along with the other elements like lead, tin, mercury, and sulfur, gold was utilized as early as 6000 B.C. It was used primarily in making jewels like rings and bracelets. It was also used for other ornamentations, which were commonly used by the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Romans.

The largest deposit of gold is found in South Africa, although countries like Australia, United States, and the area of the former Soviet Union are known to have deposits of it too.

Gold is mainly known as an element in making pieces of jewelry. In fact, 65 percent of its use is for them. However, they are also used in industrial applications such as creating ceramics, electrical, and electronic products.

14K Gold - To create 14 karat gold, a jeweler would need to use 14 units of gold and 10 units of a different alloy. This will be combined to meet the standard 24-unit measure for gold.

18K Gold - An 18 karat gold piece will need to use 18 units of gold and add 6 units of a different alloy to meet the 24-unit standard. The alloy is used to create a particular color or to make the gold harder.

White Gold - White gold is the result of the combination of gold alloy and a white element alloy such as that of palladium or nickel. While it no longer appears to yellow, the same way that traditional gold would look like, it is valued the same way in karats.

Yellow Gold - This is the color to which gold commonly comes to mind when mentioned. When it is yellow in appearance, it is said to be in its pure gold form.