If I handed you a pretty rock and told you it was precious would you agree to pay thousands for it?
2007-07-22 07:15:48 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
It has occurred to me---Im glad Im not the only one who thinks like this.
2007-07-22 07:26:12 · answer #1 · answered by Nemo the geek 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh dear - blinkers on then!!!
Gold is essential for many electrical connections in scientific instruments. It is an ideal shield for use in space vehicles. It's unique properties make it usefull particularly in medicine but also in many other fields.
Rarity also plays a role with gold. If you took all the gold ever produced in the world and melted it into one large ingot it would only be the size of two large semitrailers!
Diamonds although gemstones are absolutely essential to industry as cutting mediums. Far more is used by industry than ever will be by the jewelry industries. Diamonds for jewelry are kept artificially high by keeping them scarce on the market. A huge area of Namibia is closed completely due to the fact that diamonds are so prolific there they can simply be picked up on the surface. If this area was opened up the price of diamonds would crash.
Other jewels such as garnet, ruby etc are also used in scientific instruments.
But whether it is precious metal or precious stones you are missing the aesthetic value of beauty and artistry. That is very sad indeed!!!
2007-07-24 07:35:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ancient humans must have realized that gold and "precious stones" were very hard to find and extract, therefore they became prized possessions of tribal leaders. Since then the value of a metal or stone has been established according to its rareness.
Until the early 1970s, most of the world's currency was "backed up" by gold reserves. It was Nixon that changed all that by making the US dollar a currency backed up only by the strength and trust in the US economy.
2007-07-22 14:58:25 · answer #3 · answered by J Kibler 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gold is a very good conductor of electricity and has a low contact potential, which makes it ideal for electronic circuits.
Diamond is the hardest naturally-occurring substance, so it is an ideal abrasive for grinding other materials. Aluminum oxide (the base material of sapphires and rubies) is the second-hardest naturally-occurring substance, and is also used as an abrasive (for example, sandpaper is usually aluminum oxide).
Both gold and gems have practical applications beyond jewelry.
2007-07-22 14:27:58 · answer #4 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yep, diamonds are rocks too and not even that pretty not to mention you can take human ashes and put them in a pressure chamber and make diamonds- gross!!! I do like the pretty rocks such as rubies and that but I wouldn't pay a bundle for them. Thats just me personally.
2007-07-22 14:19:30 · answer #5 · answered by lilbitbeechy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Quite true. But then, human body is meat and bones, water, slush, and the unmentionalbles, why love someone who is gonna die whenever possible, and make an huge mosoleum of the beloved. After all, it is one life worth total 90 years?
2007-07-22 14:22:01 · answer #6 · answered by anjum a 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, humans are doofi, (?), and since they couldn't keep track of their obligations, they needed currency.
Rare stones and metals were as convenient for this purpose as anything else, so maybe even doofi get one right occaisionally.
2007-07-24 00:09:16 · answer #7 · answered by Irv S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
humans are still primitive in that they will gather to themselves anything that takes their fancy. at one time the fad was carved bones ( ivory) My attitude is that if it doesn't feed , clothe and house you its probably a useless diversion.
2007-07-22 14:21:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋