How Is Gold Used?

There are several uses for gold and they come in a wide variety. Meaning, gold as an investment is not the only way gold is used.

Gold is a very valuable metal that has several unique properties that contribute to making it very popular amongst many industries.

Gold has a high level of malleability, ductility, it resists corrosion, and many other chemical reactions, it has great electrical conductivity, it reflects infra red light and has great thermal conductivity properties.

Gold is used in a wide variety of electronic devices such as home appliances, cell phones, telephones, and computers. You can even find gold as part of wheelchairs. Gold is highly used in electrical contacts and the majority of circuit boards contain a measure of gold.

The space industry uses gold for its reflective properties, which helps protect satellites and spacecrafts from solar radiation. In order to protect the computers onboard the Galileo space probe from short-circuiting due to a large amount of bombardment, NASA created a Heavy Ion Counter (HIC). This counter consists of silicon wafers with gold electrodes that detect the heavy ions that are penetrating the wafers. NASA engineers are given the ability to monitor the computers onboard the spacecraft and make any changes necessary through the use of the HIC.

Gold is also used in medicine and is a very important tool in medical research. Gold has anti-inflammatory properties and has also been known to help with arthritis. Gold-based injections have given relief to those with swelling and pain from rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis.

Gold is also popular in the jewelry industry because of its beauty and value. Gold is combined with other alloys; mainly copper to create a harder, more ductile metal that makes it easier to form into jewelry.

There is a continued growing demand for gold not just for gold rings and other types of jewelry but also in the form of gold bars and coins.

Gold is an outstanding hedge of protection. It can provide protection against inflation and also recession. When the value of the dollar decreases the value of gold typically increases. So while there is a growing demand for gold the value of gold continues to rise.

The rising value of gold is greatly contributed to the high demand of gold in a wide range of industries, which is an added advantage to the investor who is eager to purchase gold.