Our precious metals
Of all the different precious metals in the world, gold is the one that most people desire. Since the beginning of recorded history, gold has been use to create many different works of art, coinage, and jewelry. With its origins as grains in rocks and in alluvial deposits, gold is shiny, soft and dense. Gold is the most ductile and malleable pure metal.
The term "gold" was derived from "geolu", an Old English Anglo-Saxon word which means "yellow". Its symbol "Au" (see below), originated from "aurum" which is the Latin word for gold. The exact period when gold was first discovered is unclear. While some accounts claim that the year was 1848 (the California gold rush), ancient history tells us that gold was used much earlier by Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, and South Americans.
Why we love gold
The characteristics that make pure gold attractive to us are its bright yellow color and luster. These characteristics are unmutable because gold is chemically unaffected by air or moisture.
Throughout history, gold has served both as a measure of value and a symbol of wealth. Gold, along with silver and copper, is a coinage metal and it is used as a means of payment or medium of exchange. Gram weight and troy weight are the units of measurement used for gold. To indicate the amount of gold present in an itemof jewelry we use the term "carat". A necklace that is 24 carats is actually made out of pure gold.
Physical properties
Here I list some of the chemical, physical and atomic properties of gold:
Chemical:
• Chemical Symbol: Au
• Electron Configuration: [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s1
Physical:
• Density (near room temperature): 19.30 g.cm-3
• Liquid Density (at melting point): 17.31 g.cm-3
• Melting Point: 1064.18°C, 1947.52°F, 1337.33°K
• Boiling Point: 2856°C, 5173°F, 3129°K
• Heat of Fusion: 12.55 kJ.mol-1
• Heat of Vaporization: 324 kJ.mol-1
Atomic:
• Atomic Number: 79
• Atomic Weight: 196.966569(4) g.mol-1
• Oxidation States: -1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Electronegativity: 2.54 (Pauling scale)
• Atomic Radius: 144 picometre
• Covalent Radius: 136±6 picometre
• Van der Waals Radius: 166 picometre
• Ionization Energies: 890.1 kJ.mol-1 (first), 1980 kJ.mol-1 (second)
Gold prices and fixing
While the price of gold is determined via trading in the derivatives and gold markets, its daily benchmark price is determined in a procedure called the London Gold Fix. Following this procedure, the price of the precious metal is determined each business day on the London market.
The fixing is done twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The afternoon time was introduced about 49 years after the procedure was first introduced, as a way to provide prices when the US markets are open.
This gold-price fixing procedure is carried out by any of the five members of the London Gold Market Fixing Ltd. These are; The Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank AG London, HSBC, and the Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking.
