| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Brown, Theodore L. and Lemay Jr., H. Eugene, Chemistry: The Central Science. Prentice Hall Inc, Englewood, New Jersey, 1985: 10. | Table 1.4: Densities of Some Selected Substances Substance: Gold Density (g/cm3): 19.32 |
19.32 g/cm3 |
| World Book Encyclopedia. United States, 1996: 249. | Properties of Gold: Gold (Au): Density (at 20 degrees Celsius) 19.32 g/ cm3 Gold weighs about 19 times as much as an equal volume of water at 20 degrees Celsius." |
19.32 g/cm3 |
| Santine, Arthur. Gold Jewelry. 5 January 2006. | "When weighing gold it is the 'density' that is measured. Gold has a much higher density compared to many of the metals used to alloy with it to create varying karats and colours of gold jewelry. The density of gold is 10.18 troy ounces/in3 of pure gold." | 19.32 g/cm3 |
| Gibbs, F.W. William Lewis and Platina; Bicentary of the 'Commercium Philosophicotechnicum' [pdf]. Platinum Metals Review. Vol. 7, No. 2 (1963): 66–69. | "Lewis's platina was still not pure, as he reported an average density of about 17; whereas that of an alloy of equal parts of gold and platina was about 16.5. Thus, density measurements were not of very great help." | 16.5 g/cm3 (impure) |
| Greenwood, Barbara. Gold Rush Fever; A Story of the Klondike, 1898. Ontario: Kids Can Press, 2001. | "Since gold is 19.3 times heavier than water, it sinks to the bottom." | 19.3 g/cm3 |
Glorious Gold
For thousands of years, people have mined gold. The desire for gold has flowed in the blood of all cultures, just as it flows in the veins of the mountains of all continents. People have adorned their dead in gold, used gold to create money and they have used gold in medicine to kill certain types of cancer. Through the ages people have lived and died for gold. The stampede for gold searched in a frenzy for it, from South Africa to the Australian outback, from California to the Klondike.
Gold is one of the most desired metals because of its strong physical and chemical properties. Gold has the greatest ductility of all metals, considering 30 grams can be drawn into a wire that is 80 kilometers long without breaking. Also being the most malleable, it is one of the most versatile of all the metals. Gold can be hammered into different shapes for currency or jewelry. Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and does not rust like iron when exposed to water or oxygen.
One of gold's most important properties happens to be its density. Density is the amount of mass in a unit volume of that substance. In simpler terms,
density [grams/cm3] = mass [grams]/volume [cm3]
To date, the recorded density of gold is 19.32 grams/cm3. Gold weighs approximately 19 times as much as an equal volume of water. Back in the day of the gold rush, the density of gold played an important role in the panning process. A poor man, searching for gold that would be hiding in the gravel near creeks and streams, could take a frying pan, scoop up gravel and sand near the river bed, and swirl it. The gravel and sand would wash out, and the remaining solids would separate and the heaviest would sink to the bottom of the pan. This is an example of the density of gold at work. Gold, being denser than the other solids as well as the water, would sink to the bottom of the pan. After the water and gravel is poured out, the thin traces of gold would remain. The golden metallic luster, even though exposed to oxygen in the air and water, could be seen by the naked eye. To sum it up, the density of this valuable metal eliminated the need for fancy equipment.
Gold, the most sought after metal throughout the ages, would not have been discovered if not for its density. Are you worth your weight in gold?
Alex Scelso -- 2008