What are the facts about gold ? Gold is considered one of the most prized commodities and has been used as a basis for monetary transactions throughout history.

It is valued for its beauty in gold jewelry, bright gold-color shine in gold coins and gold bullion, its resistance to corrosion and high conductivity for industrial purposes, and as a commodity hedge against inflation in gold investing. These interesting facts about gold have created a demand that has lasted since its discovery by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago.

Gold is the name of a yellow metal which has been derived from the Old English word ‘geolu’ meaning yellow and has been the valued since the inception of civilization.

Ancient civilizations also were interested by the shining properties of this metal and used it extensively to make ornaments and jewelry. As civilization grew, gold was used as currency and gold coins of various denominations were stamped, often bearing the image of the local rulers in different parts of the world. The value of gold continued to be appreciated in modern times where gold has been used as a standard for global currencies, or as a stockpiled commodity by governments. It remains used in the medical field and in electronic devices.

Some more interesting facts about gold are that the chemical symbol for gold is Au. Au is derived from the Latin word for gold, AUrum. It is a naturally occurring element, with an atomic number of 79 and it is classified as a transitional metal in the Periodic Table. Among the unique physical and chemical properties of gold that it does not corrode. Scientifically speaking, the gold fact is that it is the only metal that does not form an oxide film on its surface when it comes in contact with air at room temperature, and thus it is not prone to rust or tarnish.

Yellow is the natural and pure color of gold, but gold alloys can have different colors. When Gold is mixed with other metals, it can acquire a different tinge which depends upon the metal with which it is combined. For example, if gold is mixed with varying amounts of copper and silver it turns red, yellow or green. If it is alloyed with nickel, zinc and copper it acquires a white color and is known as white gold, or oroblanco as coined by the colonial era Spaniards. The natural alloy of gold and silver is known as electrum and the combination of gold and mercury is known as gold amalgam. For more on silver, see Facts About Silver.

The basic reasons why gold has been accorded a high value is its rarity, beauty, and many unique properties, which distinguish it from other metals. Among these facts about gold are:

• Noble Metal: Gold is considered a "noble" metal due to the fact that it does not oxidize in normal conditions and is therefore free from the problem of rusting and tarnishing.
• Gold is Recyclable: Gold is almost indestructible which implies that it is immune to physical destruction of any kind and can be recycled and used as many times by the owner.
• Soluble: It is soluble in aqueous mixtures containing halogens and iodides as well as oxidizing mixtures like aqua regia.
• Conductivity of Gold: Gold is one of the best conductors of electricity. Because of that the fact about gold is that it has many industrial uses. Gold is especially used where high conductivity and resistance to corrosion is needed, such as in mission critical electronic circuits. Among the industrial applications are in computer chip connectors, and circuits of motor vehicles, satellites and aircraft.
• Gold is Soft: Gold considered easy to work with because it is relatively soft compared to other metals. Where hardness is desired, gold is mixed with other metals to form alloys. Gold is ductile and malleable due to which it can be relatively easily drawn into thin and long wires and can also be formed into sheets which are so thin that they allow the passage of light.
• Gold is higly reflective: Since this metal completely reflects infrared rays, it is used widely for radiation reflection and is a good conductor of thermal energy. Courtesy of Facts About Gold.

Some of the ways in which gold has been glorified in our society are:

• In sports, especially the Olympic Games, Gold was and is used to adorn the first place medal - whether for track stars, figure skaters, the top tennis player, or the winning Olympic hockey team. Likewise, the phrase "going for the gold" symbolizes making your best effort to come in first place, or at least do well.
• Gold coins were once considered the standard for legal tender. Although not used for coinage today, gold coins still are actively collected, and rare coins can be valued above the value of their gold content. For example, the 1933 Double Eagle is considered one of the rarest gold coins in the world, and was sold for $7.59 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2002.

The purity of gold is measured by the unit ‘carat’ in which the purest form of gold is designated as being 24 carats. So 100% pure gold is 24 carat gold. Alloys of gold have fewer than 24 carats, for example 14 carat gold is about 58% gold, and the remainder other materials. Historically speaking, the term carat is derived from the word ‘carob’ - i.e. from carob seeds, which historically were used for balancing scales in Oriental markets.