I know it's probably not the most economical thing to do and I don't care. I'm not trying to build a business here. Instead I simply think it'd be neat to be able to make a ring or something for my wife from an old shed of computer crap I found. I've already asked the owner if I can have it. There are about 50 386 computers and as many monitors. So how to I get the gold? After I get the gold out I'm not sure what I'll do with the crap so any suggestions on how to dispose of the trash in the most environmentally friendly way possible would be nice too. Thanks!
2006-10-18 05:06:13 · 9 answers · asked by generic_nickname 2 in Environment
i don't know how to do that in home but i know that there is factory in one of the scandinavian countries who recycle all that and get the gold and nearly more than 40% of the country need of copper too.
2006-10-18 21:13:47 · answer #1 · answered by Kalooka 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
50 computers would not likely be near enough to make a ring. As there is gold in some of the computer components, it's enticing, but not really worth it at all. Most of the Gold is in contacts, pins, and inside some components. It's used because it is resistant to corrosion. The problem is that it's only a few thousandths of an inch thick on these parts.
In the monitors, you would be likely to find gold only on the monitor connector (VGA or whatever). there would be little or nothing inside. Inside the computer, maybe on the serial port, monitor port, printer port connectors. Possibly on SIMM connectors, CPU, etc. Still, very little. Military electronics contains much more for reliability.
Extracting the gold is usually done chemically, with (I believe) Cyanide. As such, it's a really dangerous process. In an average PC, you might be likely to extract a few milligrams of Gold; not really worth it unless you are doing so on an industrial scale.
2006-10-18 05:14:20 · answer #2 · answered by Deirdre H 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
That is a *major* undertaking! There probably isn't enough gold in all 50 computers to make a ring. And there are plenty of toxic elements and compounds in all that. Sell whats working to used computer shops for cheap.
Part out the rest and sell each piece to pack-rats on ebay for a dollar plus shipping.
Then go buy your wife an inexpensive ring.
Seriously, you would need more than $10K to start an operation like that. You would be lucky to break even then. And baring all this junk down to its beryllium, arsenic and phosphorus core is s-c-a-r-y.
2006-10-18 05:14:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You might want to call some jewelers that do repairs and melt-downs. You can also check with the chemistry departments of colleges in your area.
I don't know if I was any help, I've actually never heard of such a thing being done, but I think its a really cool idea and very creative. I'll bet if you're successful doing this, your wife will be very impressed.
I would be!
Good luck!
2006-10-18 05:09:37 · answer #4 · answered by Sweet! 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
China
2016-03-18 21:30:00 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A better hobby and way to make money is to collect underpants! You just take them from people's dressers in the middle of the night while they sleep.
The Formula
Step 1) Collect Underpants
Step 2)
Step 3) Profit!
Time to go to work! Work all night!
Search for underpants hey!
We won't stop until we have underpants!
Yum tum yummy tum hey!
More info...
http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=7134
And...
http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2005/05/underpants_gnom.html
2006-10-18 05:12:17 · answer #6 · answered by DiRTy D 5 · 3⤊ 7⤋
i didn't know there was gold in the computers
2006-10-18 05:08:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
i didnt know you can do that thats amazing
2006-10-18 05:20:12 · answer #8 · answered by django 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you can do that WOW!
2006-10-18 05:07:40 · answer #9 · answered by no name 1 · 0⤊ 4⤋