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What
the name means:
Gold is an Anglo-Saxon word that probably
derived from the Sanskrit words gelwa
and jval, meaning “yellow and
shining”. The symbol, Au, is taken from
Latin word aurum. This word derives
from the word aurora, meaning
“morning glow (from the East)”. The Goddess
of Dawn was called Aurora.
Who
identified
gold? Gold has
been used since prehistoric times. It has
always been a symbol of wealth, used in
jewellery and for making coins. It is one
of the few elements that can occur in its
native form, not chemically combined to
other elements. It was mined as nuggets or
grains from cracks in rocks or panned from
the sand and silt (alluvium) in river beds.
About
gold: Gold is a
soft metal that has a yellow lustre. It
does not react with most other elements or
compounds. It can also be made into thin
sheets known as gold leaf. Interestingly
enough, gold does dissolve in mercury and
forms an amalgam. The standard for gold in
jewellery, for example, is based on the
number of “carats”. The purest gold is 24
carats. Jewellery of 12 carats would have
50% gold and 50% of a mixture of silver and
copper. Most jewellery is 9 carat gold. |
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