subject: Industrial Gold Usage Today [print this page] When people think of this precious metal, the first things that usually come to mind are gold bullion, investments and jewelery. Still, it is important for everyone to know that gold is used in many other areas too, one of which is industry. Each year, more than 10% of the total gold demand is industrial, which amounts to about 400 tons. This happens because it has many special qualities that make it practically irreplaceable.
Gold is a very good electrical and thermal conductor. It is malleable, extremely ductile and resistant to wear, so a tiny amount goes a long way. Being safe against all oxidant and corrosive processes, it is very profitable and remains free of tarnish even after a long period of time. Its only disadvantage is that it is rather soft, so it must often be alloyed with stronger metals, like silver, platinum or cobalt.
Being such an efficient conductor, it is very often used in electronics, to make all sorts of connectors and contacts. You can find gold in just about every piece of electronic equipment you have, including washing machines, television sets, mobile phones and pocket calculators. Even the connectors between microprocessors and the mother board of your computer are made out of gold alloys.
Another industrial department that puts gold to use is aeronautics. Many pieces of space shuttles are covered in gold, so as to reflect radiation and keep the temperature inside constant. It is also used as a lubricant for mechanical parts because of its resistance to friction and for coating the visors on the astronauts' helmets, in order to protect their eyes and skin from cosmic solar radiation.
Another area that utilizes gold is glass-making, where using just just a small number of gold nanoparticles will give it a reddish tint. It is also used to make specialty windows for climate controlled buildings, because gold-coated glass will reflect heat and radiation, keeping the inside temperature cool and constant.
Despite it being so heavily used, our planet's gold reserves are still safe, because this metal can be recycled and reused without losing its properties. Recycled electronic and other types of devices are collected and metal is extracted from them. This way, we can continue using gold for our needs and still conserve Earth's natural resources.
