Precious Metals

Since ancient times, gold has been associated with the sun. Its name is believed derived from a Sanskrit word meaning "to shine," and its chemical symbol (Au) comes from aurum, Latin for "glowing dawn." Pure gold has an exceedingly attractive, deep yellow color and a specific gravity of 19.3. Gold is soft enough to scratch with a fingernail, and the most malleable of metals. A block of gold about the size of a sugar cube can be beaten into a translucent film some 27 ft (8 m) on a side. Gold's purity is expressed either as fineness (parts per 1,000) or in karats (parts per 24). An alloy containing 50% gold is 500 fine or 12 karat gold. Gold resists corrosion by air and most chemicals but can be dissolved in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, a solution called aqua regia because it dissolves the "king of metals."