gold (Au), chemical element, a dense lustrous

yellow precious metal of Group 11 (Ib), Period 6, of the periodic

table of the elements. Gold has several qualities that have made it
exceptionally valuable throughout history. It is attractive
in colour and brightness, durable to the point of virtual
indestructibility, highly malleable, and usually found in nature in a
comparatively pure form. The history of gold is unequaled by that
of any other metal because of its perceived value from earliest
times.

Element Properties

atomic number 79

atomic weight 196.96657

melting point 1,063 °C (1,945 °F)

boiling point 2,966 °C (5,371 °F)

specific gravity 19.3 at 20 °C (68 °F)

oxidation states +1, +3

electron configuration [Xe]4f145d106s1

Properties, occurrences, and uses

Gold is one of the densest of all metals. It is a good conductor of

heat and electricity. It is also soft and the most malleable and
ductile of the elements; an ounce (31.1 grams; gold is weighed
in troy ounces) can be beaten out to 187 square feet (about 17
square metres) in extremely thin sheets called gold leaf.
gold funerary mask of TutankhamunTutankhamun, gold funerary mask found in
the king's tomb, 14th century BCE; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.(more)

Because gold is visually pleasing and workable and does not tarnish
or corrode, it was one of the first metals to attract human attention.
Examples of elaborate gold workmanship, many in nearly perfect
condition, survive from ancient Egyptian, Minoan, Assyrian,
and Etruscan artisans, and gold continues to be a highly favoured
material out of which to craft jewelry and other decorative objects.
(see metalwork; goldwork.)
gold barGold bars at the New York Assay Office of the U.S. Mint.

Because of its unique qualities, gold has been the one material that
is universally accepted in exchange for goods and services. In the
form of coins or bullion, gold has occasionally played a major role
as a high-denomination currency, although silver was generally the
standard medium of payments in the world’s trading systems. Gold
began to serve as backing for paper-currency systems when they
became widespread in the 19th century, and from the 1870s
until World War I the gold standard was the basis for the world’s
currencies. Although gold’s official role in the
international monetary system had come to an end by the 1970s,
the metal remains a highly regarded reserve asset, and
approximately 45 percent of all the world’s gold is held by
governments and central banks for this purpose. Gold is still
accepted by all nations as a medium of international payment. (See
also money.)

leaf formation on goldLeaf formation on gold from the Mother Lode, Nevada county,
California

Gold is widespread in low concentrations in all igneous rocks. Its

abundance in Earth’s crust is estimated at about 0.005 part per
million. It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically
uncombined except with tellurium, selenium, and bismuth. The
element’s only naturally occurring isotope is gold-197. Gold often
occurs in association with copper and lead deposits, and, though
the quantity present is often extremely small, it is readily recovered
as a by-product in the refining of those base metals. Large masses
of gold-bearing rock rich enough to be called ores are unusual. Two
types of deposits containing significant amounts of gold are
known: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated
with quartz and pyrite (fool’s gold); and placer deposits, both
consolidated and unconsolidated, that are derived from the
weathering of gold-bearing rocks.

gold nuggetsGold nuggets, with some flakes and dust.

Veins enriched in gold form when the gold was carried up from
great depths with other minerals, in an aqueous solution, and later
precipitated. The gold in rocks usually occurs as
invisible disseminated grains, more rarely as flakes large enough to
be seen, and even more rarely as masses or veinlets. Crystals about
2.5 cm (1 inch) or more across have been found in California.
Masses, some on the order of 90 kg (200 pounds), have been
reported from Australia.
gold mask of Xipe TotecXipe Totec mask, gold cast by the lost-wax method, Mixtec
culture, c. 900–1494; in the Regional Museum, Oaxaca, Mexico. Height 7 cm.(more)

Alluvial deposits of gold found in or along streams were the

principal sources of the metal for ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Other deposits were found in Lydia (now in Turkey) and the lands
of the Aegean and in Persia (Iran), India, China, and other lands.
During the Middle Ages the chief sources of gold in Europe were
the mines of Saxony and Austria. The era of gold production that
followed the Spanish discovery of the Americas in the 1490s was
probably the greatest the world had witnessed to that time. The
exploitation of mines by slave labour and the looting of palaces,
temples, and graves in Central and South America resulted in an
unprecedented influx of gold that literally unbalanced the economic
structure of Europe. From Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the
New World in 1492 to 1600, more than 225,000 kg (8,000,000
ounces) of gold, or 35 percent of world production, came
from South America. The New World’s mines—especially those in
Colombia—continued into the 17th and 18th centuries to account
for 61 and 80 percent, respectively, of world production; 1,350,000
kg (48,000,000 ounces) were mined in the 18th century.
Klondike Gold RushMiner panning for gold in a stream during the Klondike Gold
Rush in Canada.

Russia became the world’s leading producer of gold in 1823, and

for 14 years it contributed the bulk of the world supply. During the
second era of expanding production (1850–75), more gold was
produced in the world than in all the years since 1492, primarily
because of discoveries in California and Australia. A third marked
increase (1890–1915) stemmed from discoveries in Alaska, Yukon
Territory (now Yukon), and South Africa. A major factor in the
increase of the world’s supply of gold was the introduction in 1890
of the cyanide process for the recovery of gold from low-grade ores
and ores containing minute, particle-sized gold. Gold production
continued to rise throughout the 20th century, partly because of
the improvement in recovery methods and partly because of the
continual growth and expansion of South Africa’s gold-mining
operations. (See gold rush.)
Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia: gold mineSuper Pit gold mine, Kalgoorlie-
Boulder, Western Australia.

In the late 20th century, four countries—South Africa, Russia,

the United States, and Australia—accounted for two-thirds of the
gold produced annually throughout the world. In the early 21st
century, China was the world leader in gold production. During this
period, Australia, the United States, Russia, Canada, and South
Africa also continued to supply large amounts of
the precious metal. (For full treatment of the mining, recovery, and
refining of gold, see gold processing).

Because pure gold is too soft to resist prolonged handling, it is

usually alloyed with other metals to increase its hardness for use in
jewelry, goldware, or coinage. Most gold used in jewelry is alloyed
with silver, copper, and a little zinc to produce various shades of
yellow gold or with nickel, copper, and zinc to produce white gold.
The colour of these gold alloys goes from yellow to white as the
proportion of silver in them increases; more than 70 percent silver
results in alloys that are white. Alloys of gold with silver or copper
are used to make gold coins and goldware, and alloys
with platinum or palladium are also used in jewelry. The content of
gold alloys is expressed in 24ths, called karats; a 12-karat
gold alloy is 50 percent gold, and 24-karat gold is gold that is more
than 99 percent pure.
What is nanogold?Researchers develop methods to use nanogold's ability to turn
light into heat in order to help produce nanomaterials.(more)

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Because of its high electrical conductivity (71 percent that of

copper) and inertness, the largest industrial use of gold is in the
electric and electronics industry for plating contacts, terminals,
printed circuits, and semiconductor systems. Thin films of gold that
reflect up to 98 percent of incident infrared radiation have been
employed on satellites to control temperature and on space-suit
visors to afford protection. Used in a similar way on the windows of
large office buildings, gold reduces the air-conditioning
requirement and adds to the beauty. Gold has also long been used
for fillings and other repairs to teeth.

Gold is one of the noblest—that is, least chemically reactive—of

the transition elements. It is not attacked by oxygen or sulfur,
although it will react readily with halogens or with solutions
containing or generating chlorine, such as aqua regia. It also will
dissolve in cyanide solutions in the presence of air or hydrogen
peroxide. Dissolution in cyanide solutions is attributable to the
formation of the very stable dicyanoaurate ion, [Au(CN)2]−.

Like copper, gold has a single s electron outside a

completed d shell, but, in spite of the similarity in electronic
structures and ionization energies, there are few close
resemblances between gold on the one hand and copper on the
other.
Compounds
The characteristic oxidation states of gold are +1 (aurous
compounds) and +3 (auric compounds). The state +1 is generally
quite unstable, and most of the chemistry of gold involves the state
+3. Gold is more easily displaced from solution by reduction than
any other metal. Even platinum will reduce Au3+ ions to metallic
gold.

Among the relatively few gold compounds of practical importance

are gold(I) chloride, AuCl; gold(III) chloride, AuCl3; and
chlorauric acid, HAuCl4. In the first compound, gold is in the
+1 oxidation state, and in the latter two, the +3 state. All
three compounds are involved in the electrolytic refining of
gold. Potassium cyanoaurate, K[Au(CN)2], is the basis for most gold-
plating baths (the solution employed when gold is plated). Several
organic compounds of gold have industrial applications. For
example, gold mercaptides, which are obtained from
sulfurized terpenes, are dissolved in certain organic solutions and
used for decorating china and glass articles.