What salvageable metals are their in computer? What about other appliances? Aren't the wire connections aluminum?
2006-10-23 13:01:53 · 7 answers · asked by fishleechlake 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
Gold was primarily used for the contacts on the edge connectors on ISA and PCI cards. Most PCI cards today still have gold on the contacts. It is the best affordable conductor that doesn't tarnish and that is why it is used for the edge contacts.
Typically, the gold is plated on these contacts in a thickness of 50 millionths of an inch. Yes it is recyclable but it takes special chemical processes and a LOT of boards to make it economically feasible.
Also, very tiny gold wire is also in the manufacture of computer chips. It is typically used to connect the contacts of the chip itself to the pins of the CPU assembly. But again the quantity of gold is so small you need too many of them to make it economical to reclaim.
Most commonly the only other recyclable metal inside the PC is copper which is used in the wiring, the power supply, and in the conductors on and in the circuit boards.
The sheet metal used for the case is also recyclable.
Aluminum was never a viable conductor for electronics. The only use I know of for aluminum was in house wiring about 50 years ago. It is no longer used because of its resistance levels.
Hope this answers your question.
2006-10-23 13:22:21 · answer #1 · answered by Dick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are plated gold, and they are more like pure gold than 14K gold. There's not enough to even scrape them to get a small pile of gold dust. They are like 0.001" thick, if even that. If they were solid gold, there's no way a computer could cost $599. There's plated gold plated on some connectors and card fingers too. Recyclers cut off the gold fingers and the pins to reclaim the gold, but it takes a lot of boards and a lot of processing. The gold is there because they are a great electrical conductor and doesn't oxidize. Gold plating is also used in some solder plating because it adheres well to copper and solders really well.
2016-05-22 02:49:03 · answer #2 · answered by Rhonda 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is definitely still gold for some contacts as it is one of the best conductors but it would cost much more to take it out than you could sell it for.
2006-10-23 13:06:24 · answer #3 · answered by juliepelletier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No gold, but loads of other metals that you can recycle or save. Not sure about wire connections, but here's a great site for recycling just about anything.
http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com/2006/01/recycle-everything.html
2006-10-23 13:05:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some cables use gold on their connections because gold is a great conductor.
2006-10-23 13:12:46 · answer #5 · answered by amish_renegade 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some electical componants still use gold, but the amount is so small that I very much doubt it is salvageable.
2006-10-23 13:05:31 · answer #6 · answered by Goffik 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not really but some unix workstations ive worked on do
2006-10-23 13:08:38 · answer #7 · answered by Demetri N 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋