www.britishmuseum.org In the news stories today, we're back to the old lure of gold. What makes us love it so? Mankind's attitude to gold is bizarre. Chemically, it is uninteresting in that it barely reacts with any other element. Yet, of all the 118 elements in the periodic table, gold is the one we humans have always tended to choose to use as currency.
The gold artifacts featured on my blog today are part of the treasure unearthed from the Sutton Hoo burial ship belonging to a 7th century British king and can be seen at the British Museum. I'll link part of my novel-writing to the British Museum at the end. All my books are based on the magical qualities of an ancient star moonstone ring set in pure gold. Caught by the lure of gold, my creativity explors other dimensions.
Gold is thought to derive from meteors. The biggest producers: China, Australia, US, and Russia.
One of the noble metals that do not oxidize under ordinary conditions, gold is used in jewelry, electronics, aerospace and medicine.
After analyzing all metals seeking suitability for currency, it turns out that the reason gold is precious is precisely that it is so chemically uninteresting. Gold's relative inertness means that after creating an elaborate golden jaguar, the artist or king could be confident that 1,000 years later it would be found in a museum display case, still gleaming and in pristine condition.
The gold artifacts featured on my blog today are part of the treasure unearthed from the Sutton Hoo burial ship belonging to a 7th century British king and can be seen at the British Museum. I'll link part of my novel-writing to the British Museum at the end. All my books are based on the magical qualities of an ancient star moonstone ring set in pure gold. Caught by the lure of gold, my creativity explors other dimensions.
Gold is thought to derive from meteors. The biggest producers: China, Australia, US, and Russia.
One of the noble metals that do not oxidize under ordinary conditions, gold is used in jewelry, electronics, aerospace and medicine.
After analyzing all metals seeking suitability for currency, it turns out that the reason gold is precious is precisely that it is so chemically uninteresting. Gold's relative inertness means that after creating an elaborate golden jaguar, the artist or king could be confident that 1,000 years later it would be found in a museum display case, still gleaming and in pristine condition.
en.wikipedia.org If we amassed every earring, every gold sovereign, the tiny traces gold in every computer chip, every pre-Columbian statuette, every wedding ring and melted it all down, it's guesstimated you'd be left with just one 20-metre cube, or thereabouts. But scarcity isn't the whole story. Gold has one other quality that makes it the best contender for currency in the periodic table. Gold is ... golden.
All the other metals in the periodic table are silvery-colored except for copper.
But copper corrodes, turning green when exposed to moist air. That makes gold very distinctive.
Here's a short excerpt from my co-written forth book in the Higher Ground futuristic series, Long Doom Calling. Cerridwen has just dived down under the murky waters to the British Museum and surfaced clutching treasure.
All the other metals in the periodic table are silvery-colored except for copper.
But copper corrodes, turning green when exposed to moist air. That makes gold very distinctive.
Here's a short excerpt from my co-written forth book in the Higher Ground futuristic series, Long Doom Calling. Cerridwen has just dived down under the murky waters to the British Museum and surfaced clutching treasure.
Dressed again, Cerridwen sat beside Trevly, the bag in front of her. To one side, Brunhild smeared some of Hasid's special salve over Boris's chafed chest.
Aron settled at Cerridwen's other side. “Tip it out.”
She glanced at him and smiled. “You do it.”
“Fine.” With trembling fingers—he had no idea why—Aron shook the contents out.
Sasha, already wearing several rings, gazed at the other pieces, then back at her hands.
Aron whistled. Bracelets. A ring. Some kind of head gear. Sasha snatched a necklace and ran her fingers over the gold.
“The ring,” Cerridwen whispered. She picked up the one with the blue stone and held it against the light before she slipped it on.
Despite his sudden apprehension, Aron smiled.
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