Uses of Gold
Gold is a metallic chemical element with the atomic number of 79 and the chemical symbol of Au. Gold is a soft, yellowish colored metal that is highly malleable and ductile. It occurs as granules or nuggets and can be found in veins or alluvial deposits. It has long been used in the production of fine jewelry and is considered the most precious of metals. However, gold has many other applications as well. The following are some of the most common uses of gold in the world today!
Uses of Gold
- Some investment and collectors coins are still made from gold. Gold use to be used to measure how much currency was worth until the world moved to finite money.
- Gold is used in all different types of jewelry. The higher the content of gold in a piece, the higher the caret rating. Pure gold is not used as jewelry because it is too soft and would be damaged and misshapen too easily.
- Some gold salts are used in medicine as they have anti-inflammatory properties.
- In modern times, injectable gold has been proven to help to reduce the pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis.
- Colloidal gold is used in research applications in medicine, biology and materials science. Colloidal gold particles coated with specific antibodies can be used as probes for the presence and position of antigens on the surfaces of cells.
- Gold and gold alloys are used to coat biological specimens and the glass and plastic dishes used under scanning electron microscopes.
- The isotope gold-198, is used in some cancer treatments and for treating other diseases.
- Gold leaf is used in food dishes in high class restaurants as decoration on desserts.
- Gold leaf is also used in some cocktails and Goldwasser a traditional German herbal liqueur. As you can imagine these are very expensive drinks!
- Gold solder is used to join gold in pieces of jewelry.
- Gold is made into thread and used in embroidery on clothing.
- It is used to color glass and ceremics. It gives the product a red finish.
- It was also used in developing photography to give red tones.
- It is used as a reflector of electromagnetic radiation on satellites, thermal protection suits and astronauts helmets.
- It is used in some automobiles such as formula one racing cars for heat dissipation.
- Gold is used in some aircraft cockpit windows for de-icing or anti-icing by passing electricity through it. The heat produced by the resistance of the gold is enough to deter ice from forming.
- Gold is used in electrical wiring due to its high conductivity and resistance to corrosion, particularly in products where high humidity is experienced such as computers and communication equipment.
- It is also used in connectors, switch and relay contacts, soldered joints, connecting wires and connection strips.
- Gold is used in glass to reflect the solar radiation outwards instead of allowing it to pass into a building.
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