11 Facts About Gold: Explore The Less Known

Gold Bar (Credit: Pixabay)

For thousands of years, gold has captivated people due to its unique qualities that make it a symbol of wealth, power, and even immortality, in addition to its bright beauty where it has become ingrained in human culture through its use as money, as an investment, and in numerous industrial and scientific applications. Although the value of gold as jewelry and money is well recognized to many of us, there are innumerable little-known facts that highlight the metal's genuinely remarkable properties. We will examine 11 unexpected facts about gold in this blog post article, highlighting its intriguing applications in technology, society, and even medicine.

A Brief Overview of Gold's History

The history of gold is long; as early as 2600 BC, there is evidence that it was used by early civilizations like for example, the ancient Egyptians thought that gold was the skin of their gods, especially the sun deity Ra, and utilised it for jewellery. Gold's significance as a worldwide currency began when the Lydians, who resided in what is now Turkey, produced the first recorded gold coins in the sixth century BC (Before Christ) enduring over the ages as an unchangeable representation of stability and prosperity, and it is still prized and sought for in all eras.

The Value of Gold in The Community

As a store of value, a medium of commerce, and a representation of authority, gold has remained significant for a variety of reasons where throughout history, it has been a symbol of riches for nations due to its durability and non-corrosive nature. Gold is still utilised today for a variety of purposes, including jewellery, investments, and high-tech uses and continues to be a significant asset, vital to international technology, economics, and even health. With that noted, let us dive into the 11 facts about gold as follows:

1. Gold is Edible: In many cultures, gold is regarded as a luxury culinary component, so you might be surprised to find it on your dinner plate whereby edible gold, typically in the form of gold flakes or leaf, is occasionally used as a garnish for expensive pastries, chocolates, and even beverages. Because gold is biologically inert (that is, it does not undergo absorption during digestion) it is entirely safe to eat whereby it was even believed to have therapeutic qualities in ancient Rome, and is still utilised in some culinary traditions today to provide a touch of elegance and opulence to good eating.

2. Gold is a Great Conductor of Electricity: One of the reasons gold is employed in electronics and other high-tech gadgets is because of its exceptional conductivity where it resists corrosion, making it perfect for parts that must continue to function over time, even if other metals, like copper, are superior electrical conductors and for this reason, gold is frequently used in microchips, switches, and connectors in electronics like computers, smartphones, and even spaceships, thus, the electronic connections will continue to function flawlessly for many years because gold does not rust or tarnish.

3. 24-Karat Gold is Pure Gold: The purest kind of gold is 24-karat, and it is frequently measured in karats. Gold purity is measured in karats and 24 karats indicates that the gold is 99.9% pure, meaning it contains no other metals whereby to improve its hardness and endurance, pure gold is usually alloyed with other metals, such as copper or silver, as it is frequently too soft to be used in jewellery and other items while on the other hand, 18-karat gold, for example, is composed of 25% other metals and 75% gold but the purer the gold, the greater the karat.

4. All The Gold Ever Mined Could Fit Into a Cube The Size of an Olympic Swimming Pool: Given how rare and valuable gold is, this is one of the most astounding facts whereby the World Gold Council estimates that the total amount of gold that has ever been mined in history would be around 205,000 metric tons and all of this gold could fill a cube that is roughly 21 meters (69 feet) on each side, which is the size of an Olympic swimming pool, if it were collected and solidified into a single block where because of this, gold is among the rarest and most valuable metals in the world.

5. Gold is Found on Every Continent: Although there are gold reserves all over the world, it may surprise you to hear that gold has been found on every continent since gold is a resource that is widely spread around the world, from the South African gold mines to the abundant gold resources in Australia, China, and the Americas. Although North America, particularly Canada and the United States, has some of the world's greatest gold reserves, smaller-scale mining operations in countries like Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and Russia also make a substantial contribution to the world's gold production.

6. Gold Has Been Used in Medicine For Centuries: Because of its special qualities, gold is valuable for medical applications in addition to being used as money and jewellery where the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and other cultures employed gold in a variety of ways to treat illnesses because they thought it had therapeutic qualities and in addition to being employed as a therapy for arthritis, gold leaf was occasionally applied to wounds. Today, gold is still utilised in medicine, especially in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with gold salts not forgetting that because gold nanoparticles can be designed to more precisely target cancer cells and deliver medications, they are also being investigated for use in cancer treatment.

7. The United States Holds The Largest Gold Reserves in The World: According to recent statistics, the United States has more than 8,000 metric tons of gold reserves, making it the country with the greatest gold reserves in the world whereby the renowned United States Bullion Depository, which is frequently linked to the country's gold supply, is one of the many places where this gold is kept, hence the stability of the United States dollar and the international financial system are significantly influenced by the value of this gold reserve with also France, Italy, and Germany being among the other nations having substantial gold reserves.

8. Gold Can Be Found in Sea Water: Although it may sound like something from a pirate myth, sea water does contain gold in the sense that there is still gold in the oceans, but in very little amounts (roughly 20 millionths of a gram of gold per litre of saltwater) and although it is estimated that there are approximately 20 million tons of gold in the world's waters, the extremely low concentration makes extraction impractical. Despite it is currently an economically impractical endeavour, the finding of gold in the oceans has stimulated interest in cutting-edge technologies intended to extract valuable metals from saltwater.

9. Gold is a Popular Choice For Astronaut Helmets: The helmet shield is one of the most important pieces of highly specialised equipment that astronauts need to live in the hostile environment of space and to shield astronauts from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation, a tiny layer of gold is placed to the shields of their helmets since gold helps protect astronauts' eyes from the harsh sun radiation in space since it is a great UV reflector and gold's application in space technology demonstrates the metal's adaptability and significance in even the harshest conditions.

10. The World’s Largest Gold Coin Weighs Over 2,200 Pounds: The enormous worth and appeal of gold are exemplified by the largest gold coin ever produced, which was made by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, worth more than $50 million USD and weighs an incredible 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms). With a diameter of 53 inches (1.4 meters) and a thickness of over 2 inches, the coin is composed of 99.999% pure gold making the coin a striking representation of Canada's long history of gold mining and the timeless value of gold on a global scale, even though it is not meant for circulation.

11. The Largest Gold Nugget Ever Found Weighed Over 200 Pounds: Even though they are less prevalent now because of modern mining methods, gold nuggets can still occasionally be found in their natural state and the "Welcome Stranger" nugget, the largest gold nugget ever found, was found in 1869 close to Moliagul, Victoria, Australia which is one of the largest gold nuggets ever recovered in history, where the nugget weighed an incredible 200.1 pounds (91 kg) and was discovered just below the surface. The nugget is on exhibit at the Melbourne Museum today and even though huge, natural gold discoveries are now extremely rare, with the discovery of such a massive nugget highlighting the amazing potential for locating them.

Summary

Gold is a wonderful element with properties and uses that never cease to amaze and captivate making it much more than just a symbol of luxury and prosperity. Gold is essential to modern culture, influencing our economics, technologies, and even our diets, from its usage in medicine to its presence in space and the above facts merely scratch the surface of what makes gold so special. The lasting worth of gold lies not only in its beauty or rarity but also in its capacity to endure, withstand deterioration, and cross generations, thus gold will continue to be an essential component of our common past and future as long as people are pushing the boundaries of technology, medicine, and space exploration remaining a symbol of human ingenuity and ambition, whether it takes the shape of a small microchip, a shiny coin, or an edible garnish.