Did you know that most of the gold discovered throughout history is still in circulation? However, it is thought that about 80 percent of the gold in the world is still in the ground.
Gold is commonly used in electronics because it can be reduced into a fine wire with tremendous strength and resistance to heat. One ounce of gold can be turned into a wire that's 50 miles long.
Are you confused by the measurements used to weigh gold? Here's a rough measurement that can simplify things for you. Basically, the weight of one penny coin equals 1.5 pennyweights. Another comparison measurement to use: 1.5 kitchen grams equals 1 pennyweight.
A troy ounce is the measurement used in the pricing of precious metals such as gold and silver. Basically, a troy ounce is 480 grains, which translates to exactly 31.1034768 grams.
The chemical symbol for gold can be confusing because AU doesn't seem to have anything to do with gold. The letters actually come from a Latin word that means shining dawn.
The purity of gold is measured by the karat, which was first used to measure weight. The karat was named after the fruit of the carob tree. Each pod of a carob tree weighs approximately one-fifth of a gram.
