A metal is deemed “precious” because of its rare quality and high economic value. Precious metals are naturally occurring metallic elements characterized by their impressive resistance to both corrosion and oxidation. Precious metals known today include the coinage metals; gold and silver, and the platinum group metals; platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium. In general, precious metals are less reactive than most elements. They are also ductile and have a high luster.
Some metals may be discovered and labeled precious, but the status may be revoked if the metal is more common and less valuable then it was originally thought to be. For example, Aluminum was an initially precious metal that later became common. It is the most abundant metal in the earths crust; however, it is extremely difficult to extract the pure metal from its various ores. In the nineteenth century, because of the difficulty and expense in obtaining the metal, the small available quantity of pure aluminum became more precious than both silver and gold. Aluminum cutlery was given to the most important guests at Napoleon III’s banquets while gold and silver wares were given to less worthy guests. However, shortly after the quick rise in popularity, the aluminum market crashed and the metal’s value decreased. This event was caused as a result of the discovery of a method to extract pure aluminum from its ore easily and cheaply. Production soared while prices and value plummeted and aluminum became nothing more than a common, industrial metal. Aluminum went from the world’s most precious to the world’s most productive metal seen everyday in products such as soda cans and airplane bodies.
Gold is a rare but well-known precious m...
... middle of paper ...
... and housewares.
Platinum is an extremely rare, precious metal whose value exceeds that of gold. It is the most widely used of the six platinum group metals that includes palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium. It is very heavy, lustrous, silver-white in color, and does not tarnish or corrode. Pure platinum is soft and therefore must be alloyed to increase durability. In the jewelry industry, platinum is alloyed with its platinum group companion, iridium in a nine to one ratio. With its excellent properties of strength, tarnish resistance, and workability, platinum lends itself to the fabrication of intricately designed jewelry items and gem settings. Platinum may also be used in the electrical industry for contacts and resistors, in the glass industry to make dies for fiber glass, and in the automobile industry for use in catalytic converters.
An atom, by definition, is the smallest part of any substance. The atom has three main components that make it up: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are within the nucleus in the center of the atom. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in many orbitals. These orbitals consist of many different shapes, including circular, spiral, and many others. Protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged. Protons and electrons both have charge of equal magnitude (i.e. 1.602x10-19 coulombs). Neutrons have a neutral charge, and they, along with protons, are the majority of mass in an atom. Electron mass, though, is negligible. When an atom has a neutral charge, it is stable.
Yellow gold has taken a back seat in recent years to other colors of gold and platinum. However, yellow gold is huge on the couture scene no matter what the jewelry piece or style. It can still be mixed and matched with other precious metals and is always a classic look no matter what the piece or outfit. In larger pieces, gold's natural beauty and reflectivity give any outfit that extra sparkle it deserves. Check out this slide show for an example of yellow gold's versatility in bold styles.
The term “zinc” was not in use until the 16th century, at the earliest. The ancient Greeks called it “pseudargyras,” meaning “false silver,” and made very little use of it (Mathewson 1). The unassuming bluish-gray mineral was given a warmer welcome by the Romans, who were already using it to make brass by “about the time of Augustus, 20BC to 14AD”; the Romans used, not purified zinc, but the mineral calamine (“zincky wall accretions” from caves) and fused them in a crucible with bits of copper to make their brass (Mathewson 1). Around the world, zinc was being exploited by the Chinese civilization as well, although documentation of Asian use of zinc does not come until the 7th century of AD, from Kazwiui, the “Pliny of the Orient.” Kazwiui, “who died in 630AD, stated that the Chinese knew how to render the metal malleable and used it to make small coins and mirrors” (Mathewson 2). The discovery and use of zinc, then, was widespread in ancient times and through the Middle Ages. However, it seems that it had not yet been used for anything much more practical than a mirror, a fact that would very quickly change in the 18th and 19th centuries as higher-grade zinc became available and new applications presented themselves.
Shahriar Shafiee (2010) is concerned about global gold market and gold price forecasting. He stated that in practice, the price and production behavior of gold differs from most other mineral commodities. In the 2008 financial crisis, the gold price increased by 6% while many key mineral prices fell and other equities dropped by around 40%. The unique and diverse of gold demand and supply do not correlate highly with changes in other financial assets. He had concluded that the gold supply showed that around 160,000 tons of gold has been mined in history up to the end of 2008. Gold demand by jewelry, industrial and central bank reserves equate to approximately 100,000, 30,000 and 30,000 tons, respectively. A significant proportion of the demand side of gold is attributed to jewelry, which can in turn be injected into the supply side.
Moreover, gold is a corrosion-resistant metal. I feel my past exhibits the characteristics of this material in that I avoided corrosion of my mind and body through active academic and athletic participation. In high school, I was president of the student body and head of the study group division. I became an Eagle Scout and was a member of the school's flag hoisting brigade. I also played tennis competitively, swam, and played racquetball. Through these experiences, I have gained the necessary leadership skills and exhibited unflagging responsibility to ensure a corrosion-free body and spirit.
Gold has been valued in our cultural history for as long as societies have been able to adopt this valuable metal’s unique properties. Gold is unique in its inherent marvellous glossy shine. Gold is particularly malleable, conducts electricity, doesn’t blemish and blends well with other metals. Because of these exclusive properties, gold creates its ways in our everyday life in many ways or form. Gold has always had remarkable significance, shown by most civilizations as a symbol of wealth and power. Gold has captivated most of cultures around the world and the passion for it brings to the extermination of some cultures and the growth in condition of others. This essay explores the use of gold over time and perception of the cultures that surround by gold.
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall made the discovery of gold in the foothills of Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California. The discovery by the American carpenter lead to the “greatest mass migration in the history of the United States, . . . (98).” Despite the efforts of keeping the news from leaking out to the public, the news rapidly spread out, and by mid-March a newspaper reported with obvious lack of credibility that gold was found at Sutter’s Mill. At first the people from town didn’t quite found credible such discovery for the lack of evidence, but on May 12, Samuel Brannan proved the scarcity of the resource wrong by show casting a bottle full of gold dust, from there on the beginning of the
In conclusion, gold represents the heroic qualities of generosity, ambition for glory, and the desire to leave a legacy. The hero must give back to his people, as evinced in the exchange of gold and the kenning, “ring giver.” The hero must constantly strive for more wealth and fame, through the pursuit of battle and the pursuit of gold. The hero must have a legacy and remain forever embedded in history. Gold is the material embodiment of the Anglo-Saxon hero.
Gold contains several properties that are visible through the human eye. It is these properties that will greatly differentiate gold from other existing elements in the earth. These physical properties make gold unique. The element gold is yellow in color. It is actually a very bright yellow color. When it comes to its luster, gold is
Cadmium, symbol, Cd, is a silvery white metallic chemical element with a faint blue tinge to it. It is the fifty-seventh most commonly found element in the earth. It was discovered by F. Stromeyer, in 1817, in Germany. Stromeyer was studying a sample of zinc carbonate which separated into a the new element ultimately called cadmium. The only cadmium materials, greenockite (cadmium sulfide) and otavile (cadmium carbonate) are found in zinc oxide and zinc carbonate.
The unique set of elements known as the alkaline earth metals are key components to humanity and life as we know it. Without them, many things that we both love and need would be gone. These remarkably diverse yet very similar elements that make up the alkaline earth metals family are: Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), and Radium (Ra). Although this family is often overshadowed by the infamous alkali metals, you will soon learn how spectacular and brilliant these metals really are and their value to human life.
Capitalist. (2012, February 1). Rare Earth Elements - The Technology Metals (Infographic) | Visual Capitalist. Visual Capitalist. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.visualcapitalist.com/portfolio/rare-earth-elements-the-technology-metals-infographic
Now, this rare element has many interesting attributes that are unlike other elements. Rhodium is a silver and white metallic color with
Gold, nothing can compare to this precious metal. A symbol of wealth and prosperity, it has been a value for explorers and adventurers and a lure for conquerors. Today it is vital to commerce and finance; popular in ornamentation, and increasing importance in technology.