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Gold. Michelle Yeager & Alyson Mcmurtrie. Uses of Gold. Most useful type of metal H as many different uses in the United States including: Jewelry Electronics Computers Financial Dentistry Medical Aerospace and many more!. Primary Use of Gold: Jewelry .
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Gold Michelle Yeager & Alyson Mcmurtrie
Uses of Gold • Most useful type of metal • Has many different uses in the United States including: • Jewelry • Electronics • Computers • Financial • Dentistry • Medical • Aerospace and many more!
Primary Use of Gold: Jewelry • Used to make jewelry for thousands of years • Today, most of gold that is newly mined or recycled is used to make jewelry • Some special properties of gold that make it helpful for manufacturing jewelry are: • very high luster • desirable yellow color • tarnish resistance • hammered into sheets or cast into shapes
Computers • The rapid transmission of digital information through the computer requires an efficient and reliable conductor • Gold meets these requirements and is better than any other metal • The gold in these components is: • generally electroplated onto other metals • alloyed with small amounts of nickel or cobalt to increase durability
Electronics • Most important industrial use of gold is in in the manufacture of electronics • Gold is a highly efficient and reliable conductor that can carry tiny currents and remain free of corrosion • Gold is in: • cell phones, calculators, personal digital assistants, global positioning system units, and other small electronic devices, and even larger items like television sets
Financial Uses • Used as an exchange for money • Has a long term value because it’s rare, useful, and desirable • Works well because it has a high value, is durable, and portable • The United States once used a "gold standard" and maintained a stockpile of goldto back every dollar up in circulation • Any person could present paper currency to the government and demand in exchange an equal value of gold
Dentistry • Known to have been used in dentistry as early as 700 B.C. • Gold is used because of it’s great performance and beautiful appeal • - Gold is used for fillings, crowns, and orthodontic appliances • - Is used in dentistry because it’s non allergenic and can be easy for the dentist to work with
Medical • Used as a drug to treat a small number of medical conditions • Particles of a radioactive gold isotopes are implanted in tissues to serve as a radiation source in the treatment of certain cancers • Many surgical instruments, electronic equipment and life-support devices are made using small amounts of gold
Aerospace • Used in hundreds of ways in every space vehicle that NASA launches • Very dependable and reliable • Used in electrical systems and many parts of every space vehicle are fitted with gold-coated polyester films • This film reflects infrared radiation and helps stabilize the temperature of the spacecraft
Environmental Consequences • Biggest environmental concern is toxic mine drainage • When rocks that have been buried for a long time, are dug up, air and moisture can set off chemical reactions that produce acids • If substances like sulfuric acid, arsenic, or copper, run off into lakes, rivers, and streams, they could cause serious risks for populations of fish and other organisms • Cyanide solution • is a poison to people, animals, and fish • is used when cleaning gold • Open-pit mines • produce a lot of dust, which is harmful to the people living near it
Cultural Consequences • Indigenous people, farmers, and other local communities are trying to speak out to protect their lives and communities from the impacts of potentially harmful mining operations • Public health is at danger • Water and air pollution • No traditional way of living • Large open-pit mines can cause people to have to move and they might not have enough money to go anywhere else
What is the Industry Doing? • Bills have been filed that would prohibit surface mining in the Sewanee coal seam, which is the most toxic coal seam east of the Mississippi • The industry continues to search for cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to cyanide • Local communities around the world that are being affected by this are demanding that mining projects only go forward with their approval
What Students Think • Gold mining should be done in an eco friendly environment • Should be done where there are no people around • The government should control how much gold is allowed to be mined at one time
Works Cited • "Early Gold Mining Methods." Early Gold Mining Methods. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.sierrafoothillmagazine.com/goldmethods.html>. • "Gold Historical Background." Gold History.Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://bullion.nwtmint.com/gold_history.php>. • "The Many Uses of Gold." Uses of Gold in Industry, Medicine, Computers, Electronics, Jewelry. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://geology.com/minerals/gold/uses-of-gold.shtml>. • "Mining Distributors." Is Gold Mining Bad for the Environment?Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.miningdistributors.com/knowledgebase/gold-mining-bad-for-the-environment.php>. • "No Dirty Gold." No Dirty Gold.Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nodirtygold.org/poisoned_waters.cfm>.