How is gold made?
Gold is a substance that has cast a spell over mankind for ages. Wouldn't it be practical to be able to manufacture the valuable material yourself? If you are wondering this question, be sure to read the following article as it is here that you will learn how gold is made.
The valuable metal is created in the night sky
If you want to know how gold is made, you can't avoid getting involved a little astronomy because the noble metal is created - like many other elements - in star explosions. To put it simply, it works like this:
- Due to the force of gravity, clouds of dust and gas contract in space until larger accumulations of material arise. The tensile force exerted by gravity increases the more material has accumulated. In this way, bodies can arise that are so massive that gravity creates such high temperatures inside that nuclear fusion occurs.
- In a nuclear fusion, two lighter atomic nuclei are merged into a heavier one. It will energy released which is why the sun shines.
- When a star begins to fuse hydrogen to helium, the fusion process continues with age until the star finally breeds iron. Iron is the last element that releases more energy than it consumes when it is formed.
- Elements that are heavier than iron, such as gold, cannot be incubated in a star. They arise when a very massive star collapses under its own weight. Such a collapse takes place within a few fractions of a second. Put simply, the outer layers of the star race towards its core. However, this turns out to be surprisingly stable, so that the enormous amount of energy has no choice but to orientate oneself outwards. In this way, a star can release more energy in a fraction of a second than the sun does in ten billion years. One speaks of a supernova. This is exactly the context in which the heavy elements, such as gold, can arise.
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Man can also create gold
- Humans are also able to produce gold. Ultimately, all you have to do is provide enough energy. For example, gold is also obtained when igniting hydrogen or atomic bombs.
- However, the amounts of gold that humans can produce in the above-mentioned ways are very small. The cost of manufacturing far exceeds the value of the material.
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