Gold
Element 79 · Transition Metal
Gold is the eternal metal: beautiful, untarnishing, and so soft and workable that ancient civilizations shaped it without furnaces. It conducts electricity superbly and resists corrosion completely, which is why a gram of it can be hammered into a sheet a square meter wide or drawn into kilometers of wire.
Beyond jewelry and reserves, gold coats satellite visors, connects microchips, and fills teeth. Chemically it is noble — only aqua regia and cyanide solutions dissolve it — forming +1 and +3 compounds.
Key facts
| Atomic number | 79 |
|---|---|
| Atomic weight | 196.97 |
| Category | Transition Metal |
| Group / Period | 11 / 6 |
| Block | d |
| Electron configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s1 4f14 5d10 |
| Common oxidation states | +3, +1 |
| State at STP | Solid |
| Electronegativity | 2.54 |
| Density | 19.30 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 1064 °C |
| Boiling point | 2856 °C |
Occurrence
Gold occurs as native metal in quartz veins and alluvial deposits, and in tiny traces throughout seawater. Major producers include China, Australia, and Russia.
Applications
Jewelry and currency reserves
Electronics contacts and connectors
Dentistry
Spacecraft coatings
Common compounds
- gold(III) chloride
- gold cyanide complexes
- gold(III) oxide
Gold is so malleable that one gram can be hammered into a sheet about a square meter in area — and it never rusts or tarnishes.
Data source: IUPAC standard atomic weights 2021