2007-03-23 11:40:04 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Gold is an element and there is a finite amount of it on the planet....it will not "grow" over thousands of years...I think you're thinking of diamonds, which are compressed carbon (also an element) and do develop and make this change with great time and pressure.
2007-03-23 11:45:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
How is it possible?
No element can be destroyed including gold.
Perhaps, you mean gold deposits? then answer is different.
Mineral deposits that are high cost low volume face this kind of situation. Exploitation brings a situation where the cost of production (grade, mining, metallurgy, pricing etc.) makes the venture uneconomic till such times where more of such commodity is discovered within the mining lease area or adjacent to it or the price of the commodity increases to a level where improved mining/ extraction make it again feasible.
We call mineral deposits as exhaustible resource or renewable resources because you cannot harvest minerals and metals.
However, frontier science and technology would make it possible one day to transform one atom into another and gold would not be an exception. The definition of exhaustible and non-exhaustible resource would change or vanish, new and newer materials would replace the current materials, substitute materials would be available, may be gold would loose its shine as the base of economy and currency.
But, one thing would be for sure that matter may never be destroyed or created and this holds good for gold too.
thnks
2007-03-23 20:45:13 · answer #2 · answered by mandira_nk 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. There is gold dissolved in sea water, gold in minute concentrations almost everywhere. Gold lasts a long time without degrading at all. What we mine generally gets recycled or kept. It may be that we will run out of easily mined gold some day but we won't run out of gold. Man might increase the volume extracted.
2007-03-23 19:03:04 · answer #3 · answered by JimZ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Gold and many other heavy metals are not created through processes on the Earth, so as Gene mentioned, what we have on the planet is all we're going to get. These heavy metals are created in stars. The fact that we have gold on our planet is a good indication that our solar system was formed from a previous supernova.
2007-03-23 19:27:27 · answer #4 · answered by Pecos 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The planet has all the gold it will ever have at this time. It does not "grow".
However, gold is not consumed the way oil, wood, or food is; we do not have any less gold now than we did in the past.
2007-03-23 20:42:15 · answer #5 · answered by Rochester 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We won't run out of it unless we somehow destroy it. There is a finite amount of Au on Earth. And although it is relatively rare, there seems to be plenty to go around. Geologic processes concentrate it in certain places such that we can get it and use it, but once we've mined it all, we will still have it (in jewelry and in Fort Knox). :o)
2007-03-23 18:53:15 · answer #6 · answered by asgspifs 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't see what the big deal over it is but I think we have plenty...it's just some shiny metal.Like tin foil...except more expensive and often less useful.
2007-03-23 18:48:18 · answer #7 · answered by rebel_gurl002 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's formed in stars when they explode. What we have on earth today is all we're going to get. There's plenty around - don't worry.
2007-03-23 18:45:32 · answer #8 · answered by Gene 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋