They have just discovered a sunken ship with half a million Gold coins. More and more Gold is mined to the surface every day out-pacing demand. Every Jewelry store has pounds of it and every ounce of Gold ever mined never goes away or can ever be used up. Are you sure that Gold is still precious? It sounds like a future disposal problem.
2007-05-18 20:06:02 · 13 answers · asked by liberty11235 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Other than impoverished people, who doesn't own some Gold?
2007-05-18 21:22:09 · update #1
no idea
2007-05-24 11:04:23 · answer #1 · answered by purple cow77 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think you are unduly worried. Total gold present in earth's crust taken together will not even fill a standard two story building (its density is 19.5 - remember).
Gold is expensive because of several reasons :
1. It is a rare metal, even a 3 gm/tonne is a good enough ore to be mined.
2. It is a noble metal, does not react with other elements, except a few.
3. It is malleable, you can easily change it to your desired shape
4. It is very highly conductive of heat and electricity.
5. It has great looks and lustre.
Even without decorative or ornamental values, its high specific gravity, malleability and electrical conductivity make it a very very useful metal. It has some medicinal values as well. So, you have no reason to worry about the future of the metal already extracted.
It is true that it cost too many human lives; but for that our greed is responsible, not the metal.
2007-05-19 04:17:00 · answer #2 · answered by saudipta c 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Gold is still a precious metal because demand still far exceeds supply. It isn't just used in jewelry and such; it's also a very important component of microprocessors and similar circuitry. I don't think you're going to have to worry about gold disposal any time in the next couple of centuries.
2007-05-19 03:14:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gold won't need to be disposed of. It's a rare metal because no imitation is like it. Did you know gold virtually never loses its luster?
Gold and diamonds are about the same. Diamonds just can't be duplicated. They reflect light like no other stone.
It's sad because both have costed the lives of millions of humans.
2007-05-19 03:15:15 · answer #4 · answered by perfectlybaked 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gold is still a precious metal because it is rarely found in nature. It requires tons of ores to produce an ounce of Gold.
However, Platinum is becoming more precious now because it is also rarely found in nature.
The former is preferable to Platinum because of its luster.
The latter is dull.
If you are taking Chemistry courses, you will observe that a platinum crucible looks different from your Mom's wedding ring.
Good Luck!
2007-05-19 03:21:29 · answer #5 · answered by ATIJRTX 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well Gold is definitely still considered a precious metal but frankly I find it a little silly to make so much of a shiny rock. Makes me feel like a caveman or something lol.
2007-05-19 03:16:55 · answer #6 · answered by lookforthelight79 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why ? look up what are called crustal abundances for various elements. You will see gold is exceedingly rare in Earth's crust.
All the gold ever mined will feet in a cube with a side about as long as the length of a tennis court. That is why.
2007-05-19 04:03:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since it will still be easily worked and corrosion resistant, we can always roof our houses with it (they used to use lead on some buildings, but gold would last longer). I suppose we could also pave streets with it, but that is a bit gaudy.
BTW, if you'll send me all your gold I'll take care of the disposal charges for you.
2007-05-19 03:13:49 · answer #8 · answered by tinkertailorcandlestickmaker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Precious like in 'Rare', it's not. Precious like in 'Desirability', it is. Back in the 80's it was up to $850/oz. (with inflation that's $2000 today). Then within a few months, it was no longer considered as precious and $285/oz. . It's primarily precious because someone said so. Just like Picasso is a great painter because someone said so.
2007-05-19 04:43:16 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gold is very special it can be hammered into a thickness not much more than one atom thick, it never tarnishes, it is an excellent conductor of electricity and it looks soft and lustrous. Once gold is used as a product it generally does not be recycled and it never loses value.
2007-05-23 16:53:14 · answer #10 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Is this just a trick to get us to give our worthless gold to you? I'm not falling for this again!
2007-05-19 03:14:05 · answer #11 · answered by Thegustaffa 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋