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Which Rock Would You like to Own?  Chalcopyrite on the left or Gold Ore on the right?

 

What Is Gold?

Gold, in its purest form, is a malleable, noble, soft metal, yellow in color with a resistance to oxidation or corrosion, and doesn't tarnish or rust under usual conditions.  It's English name may come from the Old English word “geolo”, meaning yellow, and its’ chemical symbol AU may come from the Latin term Aurum for gold. However, there are many other opinions about the word's origins. 

 

In gold's uncombined form it has one stable isotope, 118 neutrons and 79 protons, a nucleus with an atomic mass of 197, and forms alloys with many other metals, most commonly the ones nearest to it on the periodic table,  It combines most readily with copper.

 

 

 

Gold is classified as a "chalcophile", which means that gold has an affinity for sulphur.  However, there are no known combinations with sulphur, but several with elements that are related to sulphur, such as tellurium, (known as telluride) and selenium.  Because of this relationship with sulphur, you will find gold associated with chalcopyrite, which is a combination of iron pyrite and copper.  Since Gold loves copper so much, all of these elements are often found together in varying amounts. 

 

  Another alloy of gold is a combination of gold and silver usually 25% silver, but the silver content can be as much as 50%.  This metal combination is known as electrum, and was used extensively in the ancient world for coinage, although not necessarily from a natural state. 

That brief explanation of what gold is may not have been all you wanted to know about it, such as it's chemical symbol, atomic weight, or what percentage of gold is contained in each Karat weight.  The tables below are provided to help you find additional information about gold. 

 

Chemical Symbol, Atomic Weight and Number, Melting Point, and Specific Gravity for Gold.

• The chemical symbol for gold is Au.
• Gold’s atomic number is 79 and its atomic weight is 196.967 
• Gold melts at 1064.43° Centigrade
• The specific gravity of gold is 19.3, meaning gold weighs 19.1 - 19.3 times more than an equal volume of water. 
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Gold TROY WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS to Avoirdupois conversion
1 troy pound = 1,097 ordinary ounces
1 troy ounce = 480 grains
1 troy ounce = 31.1 grams

1 troy ounce = 20 pennyweights
1000 troy ounces = 31.3 kilograms
1 gram = .03215 troy ounces
1 kilogram = 32.15 troy ounces
1 tonne = 32,150 troy ounces
1 ordinary ounce = .9115 troy ounces
1 ordinary pound = 14.58 troy ounces

1 pennyweight = approx. 1.5 grams

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The European gold karat system is a standardized system for determining the percentage of gold content in jewelry or raw gold, and will tell you how much gold is in 24k 22k 18k 14k and 10k gold

European Gold Karat System

100 % = 1000 fine = 24 karat

91.7 % = 917 fine = 22 karat
75.0 % = 750 fine = 18 karat
58.5 % = 585 fine = 14 karat
41.6 % = 416 fine = 10 karat

 

 

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