Is this possible to identify pure gold? or is there any sound test?
2007-12-11 20:20:28 · 2 answers · asked by Devoted 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
The best way to distinguish one metal from another is still Archimedes' test... i.e. you put the sample in water and measure the displacement. That will tell you that you have gold, rather than another metal.
It won't tell you that the gold is 100% pure, however, unless you can do the measurements extremely accurately. Showing that it's 100% pure is not so easy to do. I guess that you could dissolve it up in aqua regia and then test for other metals (e.g. by atomic absorption spectroscopy), but I'm guessing that's probably beyond the scope of what you're being asked.
2007-12-11 21:57:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The proverbial "acid test". Gold is one of the few metals (the only metal?) that will not dissolve in concentrated nitric acid.
2007-12-11 21:59:23 · answer #2 · answered by Facts Matter 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋