Gold is a substance that has been subject to assumptions and myths for thousands of years. However, there are a lot of facts about gold that many may not necessarily know. You can find some of them below, so read on.
Believe It or Not, You Can Find Gold in Sewage
Sewage might be icky to think about for some, but you can find gold there if you know the right place. Treated sewage has been discovered to produce gold and silver worth millions of dollars, based on research at the Arizona State University in 2015.
China Dominates in Gold Mining
Gold mining is prevalent across the world. In 2017, China ranked first among countries when it comes to historical gold production. But Venezuela also has something: they found the largest gold crystal weighing 7.7 ounces in their homeland.
High Temperatures Can Remove Impurities From Gold
Gold also has impurities, even if it’s sometimes deemed the perfect element. But they can be removed if you have the right temperature. At 5,173 degrees Fahrenheit, this can be done.
Pure Gold Is Ductile
You can stretch pure gold at a very far distance. For example, you can use a single ounce of it to make a single thread, and that can already reach up to 50 miles without breaking. Now, imagine doing that hundreds and thousands of times more. That’s how stretchy pure gold is.
Some Medical Procedures Utilize Gold
Across millennia, humans have made use of gold to treat patients. An ancient example is when Romans used it to make dental bridges. Later on, in the coming centuries, doctors found a way to ease the pain of patients experiencing rheumatoid arthritis by using the gold’s anti-inflammatory properties.
Until now, gold is still being utilized in medical procedures, like how oncologists use gold compounds to treat cancerous tumours.
Testing Gold by Biting It? Think Again
You have probably seen athletes competing in prestigious competitions biting their medals, especially those who won the gold ones. People also assume that by biting gold, you can tell if it’s the real deal or not.
That’s not the case, and this method is unreliable. For example, in the Olympics, gold medals given out are primarily made in silver, with only a very small percentage of gold in them.
The Nobel Prize Is Gold (Literally!)
As one of the most significant and notable awards in the world, the Nobel Prize medal is made of gold currently with an 18-karat core coated in 23-karat gold. The recipient of the Nobel Prize will get a very pricey medal since one costs around $8,000.
There’s Gold in Outer Space Too
Gold is also present in celestial bodies. One asteroid alone can contain a massive amount of gold. However, we cannot extract it from outer space yet. Instead, we’ve only brought gold there from our home planet. Astronauts wear space suits coated in gold, similar to their spacecraft since the gold helps reflect infrared radiation from the bright sun.
Used to Gold Being Yellow? That Can Change
Gold is visually well-known to come in yellow. But actually, it can change its colour if it is mixed with other metals. That’s why sometimes you can see them named as white gold, rose gold, and even green gold. You can also check the amount of gold present in those mixtures by dividing the karat content by 24 and multiplying by 100 based on a piece.
Conclusion
It is believed that there is a total of 244,000 tons of mineable gold out there in the world. Apparently, the amount of gold already extracted from that number stands at about 80 percent. Wondering where the other gold is? They could be anywhere, but it is also safe to bet that many of them reside in ocean waters and seabeds.
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