Gold has always been considered as the most precious metal of all. As a matter of fact, gold has a special place in the heart of the society. Gold is used for various purposes in various places. For example, as being a precious metal, gold is present in works of art, coins, ornaments and jewelries.
Gold is obtained from little grains that reside in the middle of rocks and other deposits of alluvium. As the most precious metal, gold has a definite brightness and shine, and its composition is soft yet dense. It can be melted without causing a rupture and gold is also a very good electric conductor. Other than that, the color of gold which is yellow and sparkling bright makes the metal becomes more attractive and valuable. Gold is resistant to air and water, thus it can last for centuries especially when gold is used to make coins, ornaments and jewelries. As the most precious metal, you may find several characteristics of gold as mentioned below.
The most precious metal, i.e. gold is recognized with its chemical term ‘Au’. It comes with an atomic number which is 79, and gold is categorized as a type of transition metal. Gold weighs about 196 g.mol-1. When gold is at room temperature, its composition equals to about 19 g.cm-3. When it is in a liquidized form, it weighs around 17.3 g.cm-3. Gold starts to melt when the temperature reaches around 1064°C, and it starts to boil when the temperatures reaches 2856°C.
This most precious metal is called gold in reference to its initial term ‘geolu’, a word used in old English Anglo-Saxon era. ‘Geolu’ is similar to ‘yellow’. Its scientific term ‘Au’ was derived from the word ‘aurum’ which is a Latin word that brings the meaning of gold. Nobody knew when gold was found in the first place. Some people tend to refer to 1848 where gold was first found in California. However, due to ancient studies it was found that this most precious metal has been used widely in the eras of Egyptians up to the South Americans.
As being the most precious metal, gold is perceived with a high value and it depicts wealth. Gold is widely used in the making of coinage, apart from copper and silver. Gold has also been used as currency exchange, and it is measured with grams and troy weight. If a person buys a gold jewelry, then the content of gold in it is measured with carat. A jewelry with 24 carats means it contains pure gold.
The price of GOLD is usually identified through its current market price and trading activities. However, the actual price of gold is regulated by the London Gold Fix twice a day. The fixing of price is done twice daily in order to provide convenience to the market in the U.S. due to its different operating hours. Some of the parties involved in the determining of the price of gold as the most precious metal are the Nova Scotia Bank, the Deutsche Bank (London), and Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.