An important and growing use is in the mechanism and circuitry of safety air bags in motor vehicles. Gold is commonly alloyed with silver, copper, nickel palladium, zinc and titanium to increase its tensile strength. Australia s gold Australia is the world's third largest producer, after South Africa and USA and accounts for about 12 per cent of world output. Australia exports gold to South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong. The chemical symbol for gold is Au - from the Latin word Aurum, meaning shining dawn .
Gold is the only yellow metal.
Gold is highly malleable, that is it can be rolled into very thin gold leaf. Gold doesn't oxidize at ordinary temperatures, so no oxide film dulls its surface. It is an excellent conductor of electricity hence is used extensively in microchips. The high reflective properties of gold make it useful for heat protection on solar vehicles and for applications in the space program. It's rarity and inertness makes gold an obvious choice as the medium for coinage.