Gold Properties ~ One of gold's foremost qualities is its nontarnishing durability. Though submerged in salt water for hundreds of years, the ancient Spanish coins mentioned above looked brand new when they were discovered. Gold also has a dense atomic structure and is extremely heavy. It is malleable, and can be pounded into gold leaf so thin as to let light shine through and that objects can be seen through it, reportedly as thin as 4/1,000,000 (four millionths) of an inch. It is also ductile.
Just one ounce of gold can be drawn out into a fine wire more than 37 miles long! Gold's tensile strength is 18,000 psi in the cast conditon and 32,000 psi after 60 percent reduction. Annealed gold has 45 percent elongation and a Brinell hardness value of 25. The melting point for gold is 1945.4 degrees Farenheit and it can be worked at any temperature below this point. Unless one is licensed, it is illegal to deal in gold.
* Non-tarnishing
* Durable
* Dense atomic structure
* Extremely heavy
* Malleable
* Ductile
