Gold
| Gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Appearance | Metallic yellow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Standard atomic weight Ar°(Au) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold in the periodic table | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic number (Z) | 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group | group 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | period 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | d-block | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase at STP | solid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | 1337.33 K (1064.18 °C, 1947.52 °F) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boiling point | 3243 K (2970 °C, 5378 °F) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density (at 20° C) | 19.283 g/cm3 [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| when liquid (at m.p.) | 17.31 g/cm3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of fusion | 12.55 kJ/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of vaporization | 342 kJ/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molar heat capacity | 25.418 J/(mol·K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vapor pressure
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| Atomic properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxidation states | common: +3 −3,? −2,? −1,[4] 0, +1,[5] +2,[4] +5[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electronegativity | Pauling scale: 2.54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ionization energies |
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| Atomic radius | empirical: 144 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Covalent radius | 136±6 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van der Waals radius | 166 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spectral lines of gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Natural occurrence | primordial | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crystal structure | face-centered cubic (fcc) (cF4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lattice constant | a = 407.86 pm (at 20 °C)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal expansion | 14.13×10−6/K (at 20 °C)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal conductivity | 318 W/(m⋅K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrical resistivity | 22.14 nΩ⋅m (at 20 °C) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magnetic ordering | diamagnetic[6] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molar magnetic susceptibility | −28.0×10−6 cm3/mol (at 296 K)[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tensile strength | 120 MPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Young's modulus | 79 GPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shear modulus | 27 GPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bulk modulus | 180 GPa[8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed of sound thin rod | 2030 m/s (at r.t.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Poisson ratio | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohs hardness | 2.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vickers hardness | 188–216 MPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brinell hardness | 188–245 MPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CAS Number | 7440-57-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Naming | from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'yellow' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discovery | In the Middle East (before 6000 BCE) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Symbol | "Au": from Latin aurum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Isotopes of gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 element, and one of the noble metals. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements, being the second lowest in the reactivity series, with only platinum ranked as less reactive.[10] Gold is solid under standard conditions.
Gold often occurs in free elemental (native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as in electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium (gold tellurides).
Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), forming a soluble tetrachloroaurate anion. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid alone, which dissolves silver and base metals, a property long used to refine gold and confirm the presence of gold in metallic substances, giving rise to the term "acid test". Gold dissolves in alkaline solutions of cyanide, which are used in mining and electroplating. Gold also dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, and as the gold acts simply as a solute, this is not a chemical reaction.
A relatively rare element when compared to silver[11][12] (though thirty times more common than platinum),[13] gold is a precious metal that has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other works of art throughout recorded history. In the past, a gold standard was often implemented as a monetary policy. Gold coins ceased to be minted as a circulating currency in the 1930s, and the world gold standard was abandoned for a fiat currency system after the Nixon shock measures of 1971.
In 2023, the world's largest gold producer was China, followed by Russia and Australia.[14] As of 2020, a total of around 201,296 tonnes of gold exist above ground.[15] If all of this gold were put together into a cube shape, each of its sides would measure 21.7 meters (71 ft). The world's consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry.[16] Gold's high malleability, ductility, resistance to corrosion and most other chemical reactions, as well as conductivity of electricity have led to its continued use in corrosion-resistant electrical connectors in all types of computerized devices (its chief industrial use). Gold is also used in infrared shielding, the production of colored glass, gold leafing, and tooth restoration. Certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatory agents in medicine.
- ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Gold". CIAAW. 2017.
- ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (4 May 2022). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
- ^ a b c Arblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
- ^ a b c Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 28. doi:10.1016/C2009-0-30414-6. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
- ^ Mézaille, Nicolas; Avarvari, Narcis; Maigrot, Nicole; Ricard, Louis; Mathey, François; Le Floch, Pascal; Cataldo, Laurent; Berclaz, Théo; Geoffroy, Michel (1999). "Gold(I) and Gold(0) Complexes of Phosphinine-Based Macrocycles". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 38 (21): 3194–3197. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19991102)38:21<3194::AID-ANIE3194>3.0.CO;2-O. PMID 10556900.
- ^ Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). "Magnetic susceptibility of the elements and inorganic compounds". CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (PDF) (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.
- ^ Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.
- ^ Kelly, P. F. (2015). Properties of Materials. CRC Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-1-4822-0624-1.
- ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3) 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
- ^ "The reactivity series of metals - Reactions of metals - AQA - GCSE Combined Science Revision - AQA Trilogy". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ Duckenfield, Mark (2016). The Monetary History of Gold: A Documentary History, 1660–1999. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-315-47612-4.
Its scarcity makes it a useful store of value; however, its relative rarity reduced its utility as a currency, especially for transactions in small denominations.
- ^ Pearce, Susan M. (1993). Museums, Objects, and Collections: A Cultural Study. Smithsonian Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-58834-517-2.
Its scarcity makes it a useful store of value; however, its relative rarity reduced its utility as a currency, especially for transactions in small denominations. ... Rarity is, nevertheless, in itself a source of value, and so is the degree of difficulty which surrounds the winning of the raw material, especially if it is exotic and has to be brought some distance. Gold is, geologically, a relatively rare material on Earth and occurs only in specific places which are remote from most other places.
- ^ Lee, Jinjoo. "Costco Members Are Buying Platinum. Should You?". WSJ. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Gold Production & Mining Data by Country". 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Above-ground stocks". gold.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ Soos, Andy (6 January 2011). "Gold Mining Boom Increasing Mercury Pollution Risk". Advanced Media Solutions, Inc. Oilprice.com. Retrieved 26 March 2011.