Saturday, November 3, 2007

The metal Au

Aurum, the Latin name for gold meaning the shining dawn and its atomic number is 79. The yellow diamond, more precious and valuable and the craze for gold in jewelry or as an investment as always had its own place in the market, even though it costs less than the diamond. Among all the metals on earth there is only one that stays forever shiny and never grows old. Gold, the mellow yellow color of it intrigues us, amazes us, and leaves us wanting more. The word "gold" is actually derived from the old English word for yellow, "geolu". Any idea why is gold yellow in color?? Gold is yellow because of its cubic close packed atomic structure, which has the quality of reflecting red light at 800 angstroms.

Gold comes from deep within the earth. It is deposited in the earth's crust in mineralized hydrothermal veins. Silica, known as quartz, is the primary host rock for gold. As metallic laden silicate waters push toward the surface in the roots of volcanoes and deep faults, gold and other metals precipitate into deposits. This is an on going event of Mother Nature. Even as you read this, gold deposits are being formed on the sea floor, in volcanic vents off the coast of New Zealand. Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal. A single gram can be beaten into a sheet of one square meter, or an ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become translucent. The transmitted light appears greenish blue, because gold strongly reflects yellow and red.

As said gold’s superior electrical conductivity, malleability, and resistance to corrosion have made it vital to the manufacture of components used in a wide range of electronic products and equipment, including computers, telephones, cellular phones, and home appliances. Gold has extraordinarily high reflective powers that are relied upon in the shielding that protects spacecrafts and satellites from solar radiation and in industrial and medical lasers that use gold-coated reflectors to focus light energy. And because gold is biologically inactive, it has become a vital tool for medical research and is even used in the direct treatment of arthritis and other intractable diseases.

The demand for gold in industry is steady and growing. The supply of gold from stored inventory and from mining operations is limited and will remain so. Demand from investors who want to posses this precious metal is steady, and increases during periods of world crises or instability. The result is a market with much more upside potential than down. Gold is an excellent hedge against inflation, and protects earnings for the future. Modern investors can invest in gold the traditional way — by purchasing gold in the form of bars or coins — or they can trade in gold or gold futures electronically, or by investing in gold mining or refining companies. Gold is considered to be one of the finest investment and a never decreasing in its value. Gold- a truly valued metal and rush behind such a metal is a never ending scenario.

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