Only in recent years has a process been discovered for casting gold in transparent form and in gold-plating glass. Scripture records the amount of gold used in adorning the great temple Solomon built in Jerusalem 3000 years ago. Gold has an atomic number 79 and an atomic weight of 196.9665. Gold is 19.3 times heavier than water, melts at 1063 degrees Centigrade, and is the most malleable and ductile of all the elements. Gold can be fired by a potter into clays to produce exquisitely beautiful porcelain or glass.
Gold is chemically quite inert.
No single acid dissolves it. It is unaffected by oxygen or hydrogen sulfide. Gold does not rust, tarnish, corrode, crumble, decompose or decay, even after centuries on the sea floor or in a damp dripping cavern. Electrum is the usual name applied to gold containing a high silver content. Gold sometimes occurs in nature in combination with tellurium in the mineral sylvanite.