9781422279458

Gold: CHAPTER 1

Discovery and History

G old is a relatively rare element, and that rarity is one of the things that makes it so desirable. If you rank all of the elements by their abundance on Earth, gold comes in 73rd place. The elements platinum, osmium, rhodium, and iridium are all more rare and more ex- pensive, but gold is one of the few elements that people have fought, killed, and died for throughout history. Earth’s supply of gold probably arrived here during an as- teroid bombardment nearly four billion years ago. These gold atoms originally formed in space, likely when neutron stars collided. Most of the gold on Earth is spread out, showing up at extremely low concentrations inside of seawater, plants, an- imals, rocks, and soil. However, volcanic activity, earthquakes,

13