Gold
Gold is a soft, yellow, corrosion-resistant element, the most malleable and ductile metal, occurring in veins and alluvial deposits and recovered by mining or by panning or sluicing.
Gold has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewellery, and other arts since long before the beginning of history.
Its name comes from the Old English Anglo-Saxon word 'geolo' meaning yellow.
Its chemical symbol is Au and its Atomic number is 79.
A good thermal and electrical conductor, gold is generally alloyed to increase its strength
A single ounce of gold could be stretched into a wire 60 miles long
Gold standards have been the most common basis for monetary policies throughout human history, being widely supplanted by fiat currency only in the late 20th century. Gold has also been frequently linked to a wide variety of symbolisms and ideologies.
A total of 165,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, as of 2009. This is roughly equivalent to 5.3 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 8500 m3, or a cube 20.4 m on a side. 90% of all gold that has been ever refined happened in the last 165 years.
The world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewellery, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry.
Besides its widespread monetary and symbolic functions, gold has many practical uses in dentistry, electronics, and other fields.
Its high malleability, ductility, resistance to corrosion and most other chemical reactions and its conductivity means that gold is used in many areas of manufacture including electric wiring, coloured glass production and even gold leaf used in high end catering.