Interesting facts about gold

August 11, 2009 | In: Random interesting fact

Chemical symbol is Au from the Latin word ‘aurum’ which means “shining dawn” .

A carat was originally a unit of mass based on the carob seed used by ancient merchants.

Gold was discovered in Ancient times and used by the ancient South Americans, Asians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese. It is mentioned in the Bible.

The purity of gold is measured in Carats.The Carat is still used for the weight of gem stones where 1 carat = 200mg. Pure gold is 24 carats.

Oceans are the greatest single reservoir of gold at Earth’s surface, containing approximately eight times the total quantity of gold mined to date. However, the current cost of extracting it is more than the gold is worth. About 10 billion tons of gold are estimated to be held in suspension in the oceans of the world.

The oldest gold jewelery used by man is dated to 3500 BC.

Pure gold is expensive and not very practical to wear owing to its extra softness. Therefore, it is mixed with other metals mainly copper and silver.

Compared with other metals, gold is much softer. It can even be hammered so very thin that the light of the sun can shine through it.

The melting point of gold is 2,063 degrees fahrenheit.

Did you know that Platinum is one of the world’s strongest metals? It weighs 60% more than karat gold.