Gold Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

money - Research Paper ExampleIntroduction Gold is a dense chemical element having a shiny, soft and malleable surface. Its chemical symbol is Au which comes from a Latin word Aurum. It has an atomic number of 79. Gold is among the non-reactive metal, thus, it umteen functional uses in manufacturing industries and natural environments. It has rust resistance i.e. does not react with oxygen. It is a good conductor of electricity being able to convey a very comminuted electrical current in temperature ranging from -550 to +2000. 1 This metal is among the most ductile metals, thus, it allows to be molded into very small threads or wires without breaking. Furthermore, specie is malleable. This makes it realizable to be shaped into extraordinary thin sheets. It is known to be the least absorptive material, but most reflective of infrared energy. Gold with a noble purity has the capability of reflecting 99 percent of infrared rays. Also, gold is among the best heat conductors or ther mal energy. This makes it to be used to transfer heat apart from very delicate instruments, like electronics. Gold alloys, being the most tenacious and long performing material that is used to guard electronics against high temperatures produced by them. shoes on earth where gold is mined include Australia, Alaska, Spain, South Africa (Witwatersrand) and other parts of Africa. South Africa remains one of the biggest gold producers in the world. Figure1. Sample reach of gold in a pan taken from gold mine in Alaska. Its shinny and can be seen from a far distance in the pan. everyday properties Below table gives the major general properties of gold which are going to be discussed further and distinguished into chemical or tangible classification. General properties of gold. Atomic Mass 196.9655 g.mol -1 Boiling Point 3129 K, 5173F, 2856C Standard potential +1,68 V ( Au+/ Au ) Ionic Radius 0.137 nm (+1) Vander Waal Radius 0.144 nm Density 19.3 g.cm-3 at 20C Electronic Shell Xe 4f 14 5d10 6s1 History Discovered Middle eastern (Before 6000 BC) Table1. The common properties of gold material, It shows both physical and also the chemical properties of gold. Occurrence in Nature It occurs in its compound and also in native state (Its Free State). 2 Gold is not combined with any other element in nature. Telluride (a compound of element Tellurium) is the most common compounds of gold. For example, gold telluride (AuTe 2) is mostly composed of mineral calavarite. Also, gold is found in Nuggets and chunks large enough to see. 3 This enables people to mine gold by picking and collecting it from the rivers and streams. Gold estimation abundance in the earth crust is around 0.005 Parts per Million. 3 This makes a very small fraction as compared to Iron and other metals. Many people intrust that, about 70 million tons of gold are found in oceans. This has led to many ocean exploration of gold by many individuals and also some hold a belief that around 10 billion tons of gold are found at ocean bottoms. Howevwer, no one has ever found a means or a mining way to exploit that bottom gold. Researchers are working extremely unspoken to discover a way to exploit that bottom ocean gold, dissolved in seawater. Figure2. Pieces of gold attached to a chunk of quartz. Gold is found in Nu