If its not already casted & stamped how do u know its really gold and not a fine ylw brass or bronze for that matter. What tests can u do and what supplies are needed and how dangerous are the chemicals needed for the experiment.(other than taking it to a jeweler or sending it into some lab...I am willing to learn the simplest to the most meticulous process-I just dont know of any of them-especially that I can understand w/out having to cross reference the terminology-basically I need layman's terms. Thanks!!
138690
There's an even easier method than calculating the density. Jewelers use it all the time. Gold is about the least reactive element in the periodic table, so simply bringing the gold in contact with acid will tell you.\n\nIf there is a reaction, if the metal is etched, then it is not gold, or it doesn't contain a high concentration. If nothing happens, then it's gold. I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself, however. A very strong acid is generally used. Also, if the object is something you don't want damaged, even if it isn't gold, I'd urge caution or another method. Or just go see a jeweler.\n\nThe density method works too, just be sure that if it is a necklace or something like that, shake out all the air bubbles in the links. A friend of mine thought a necklace that he bought for his wife was fake because he did a density analysis and determined it wasn't gold. The jeweler did an acid test and said it was gold. My friend repeated the experiment and realized he did not shake the air bubbles out of the necklace.
349245
Hmm. . its pretty rare stuff so you are not going to hand out samples\nSince it was once used in lasers you could start your presentation with a laser light show, or just a simple laser pointer\nPresent the information chronologically, show how and why it was discovered (it started as a blank square on the Periodic Table of the Elelments) talk about it uses and why it was replaced\ngood luck
69683
The only safe way do do it is to make a chamber cast and measure the results. There's a product called Cerrosafe, which is a low-melting metal, that you can melt in a double boiler (melts at about 180F) and pour into the chamber. As it cools it will shrink, at which point you can tap it out. Once it gets to room temperature, though, it will regain its original dimensions. Once it's completely cooled, grab a caliper or micrometer and start measuring.\n\nThe problem is that just because you know the caliber, you don't necessarily know what cartridge it takes. .38 special, .357, 9x19, 9x21, 9x23 and a few other calibers all use the same diameter bullet. Better to be safe than sorry by getting accurate information.\n\nSee the link below and search for "cerrosafe." It's on sale this week at Midway USA.
273314
Well scrap gold doesn't sell anywhere near what the market price is. It the watch doesn't work and you wish to sell only the case you may get approximately 60% usually less than the spot price of gold... as it will need to be refined and that costs money. Try looking on ebay...if the case is in good condition you may be able to get more than the scrap cost...It really would depend on the cases condition, size and type...Good Luck
260139
I would definetly be checking into the legalities of doing this... There are alot of companies overseas that do not have the same standards of gold and mismark their items... My hubby is a jeweler and knows that working on gold from some countries is totally different than the stuff from here... I am sure you will need ot licensed up the wahoo for this. I take it you are buying straight from a mine since it is wholesale? Sounds interesting but scary to me...
482548
If the white powder is sodium carbonate, when you react it with HCl, you will get carbon dioxide gas given off as one of the products of the reaction.. this gas is odorless.\n\nIf the white powder is Zinc Sulphide, when you react it with HCl, you will get sulphur dioxide gas given off as one of the products of the reaction, this gas smells like rotten eggs and is toxic.\n\nAs for the Zinc Gold mixture, you can use different methods of extraction.. both have different melting points.. you can melt the metal with the lower melting point and pour it off, or you can add a strong acid such as Sulphuric Acid to react with the mixture... Pure Gold will not react to the mixture,  all the Zinc will  react (in presence of enough acid) and become a salt that is soluble in water... then you just filter the gold out from the solution
533945
I wonder what's the end use requirement.\n\nIf there is any available in a lab sample size, then it should be available from one of the Laboratory & equipment supplies companies.\n\nIs this to be used raw or in some kind of cast and glazed form?\nI have heard many people are allergic to traces or sulphites even in a few ppm range ( that could be inhaled or ingested , so be careful ).
66948
I saw a very weird program on BBC America (or the discovery channel) where they made a furnace and put the ore in a cruicible with crushed glass.  After they melted every thing down, the impurities from the gold bonded with the crushed bits of glass, freein the gold from the ore.  You need a lot of heat and high temps, but no arsenic is required.\n\nAnother guy on the same program did the same thing by taking a carbon rod from a battery and hooking it up to 24VDC with two car batteries.  It heated it VERY quickly.  I am sorry I cannot remember the name of the program!!!!  It was using only 19th century technology to replicate settlers in Canada during the Yukon gold rush days.
48108
this is because gold has lustre or shinning surface when polished. it can also be hammered to shape maleable since it is soft
137318
Look for any of these marks:\n\nSilver- Ster, Sterling, 800, 900, 925\n\nGold- 585, 9K, 10K, 12K, 14K, ect.\n\nIf they are unmarked:\n\nDo not acid test, especially silver! Take them to a Jeweler. Most of the time, they will tell you for free.
198399
yellow gold and white gold are the same in the allergy department.  \nstart looking at platinum, but beware that platinum dulls very quickly and i'm not sure if jewelers can get it to shine again.\n\ngosh....i feel for you.  ask jewelers if there are any treatments for the gold that would put a barrier between your skin and the metal...maybe some kind of coating??
297945
Art dealers should be familiar with specialists in this area.\n\nOne quick test you could do for yourself:  Does it appear to have been written with a ball-point pen?  If so, it is most likely a fake.
211687
The gold reclamation process from computer parts (primarily cpus and connecting pins) involves the use of dangerously strong acids and should only be attempted by someone who has researched the process carefully. The 2 items which contain the most gold use similar processes with slightly different acids. I have tried this approach and found more effort in the process, required chemicals, and discarding of the waste products than the value of the gold I recovered.\nThere are a few sellers on EBay and other sites who will gladly sell you the information you need but rest assured that there is more money selling the process to individuals than thay make recovering.\nMay I suggest you sell your CPUs and "finger connectors" on EBay, (just use sheetmetal snips to cut the connector section from the board) they will fetch you a good price with a LOT less effort.
264363
Okay, I'll try this one -\n\nRun this experiment twice (or more times), each time with a piece of metal having different density.  The metal piece should be of adequate size (a sewing needle isn't going to do it), it needs to be big enough to significantly affect the temperature of the water.  You will need to know the mass of the metal (i.e., weigh it) and have a thermometer capable of reading from room temperature up through boiling or so.  Please note this is not going to give you a highly accurate answer, but can give you a ballpark idea (I'm guessing you're probably not doing this in a 500 million dollar lab).\n\nThe procedure:\n\n1)  Measure and record room temperature as T1.\n\n2)  Weigh the metal, call it M1.\n\n3)  Bring a known quantity of water (weigh it, or measure it and convert to weight, call it M2) to a temperature just short of boiling (say 180F to 200F, use the same temperature for each run of this experiment).  Record the temperature as T2, and remove the heat source (take it off the burner, etc.).\n\n4)  Drop in a metal piece at room temperature.  Allow a couple of minutes for heat to exchange.  Make sure you use \nthe same amount of time for each run of this experiment.\n\n5)  Measure and record the new temperature of the water as T3.\n\n6)  Repeat with your other metal samples.\n\nYou can now estimate the specific heat capacity for each metal.  It will not be super-accurate (heat escapes your system, and temperatures won't have completely equalized), but should give you some idea.  Just assume all temperatures did equalize and that no heat escaped for calculational purposes.\n\nSince (you are assuming) the heat which left the water went into the metal, then the product of mass, specific heat capacity, and temperature change should be the same for both the metal and the water (but in opposite directions).\n\nThis means that:\n\n(M1)(c1)(T3-T1) = (M2)(cw)(T2-T3)\n\nwhere c1 is the specific heat capacity of the metal, and cw is the specific heat capacity of water (look it up on Google to get the units you need).\n\nSolving this, you get:\n\n......(M2)(cw)(T2-T3)\nc1 = -----------------\n........(M1)(T3-T1)\n\n(sorry about the dots, I'm trying to keep everything aligned)\n\nRepeat the calculations for each of the metals.\n\nYou will need to calculate (or look up) the densities of each of the metals.  Then, graph density vs. the specific heat capacities you calculated, and see if your hypothesis is true.\n\nHave fun!
428264
Mini-Photo Labs will actually do this process for you if you wanted yuo invest in that kind of money in one.\nThe labs that you find at WalMart or Walgreens actually have contracts to sell this metal to organizations that buy it on a regular basis.
127889
Why not take a page from Archimedes' Eureka! moment?\n\nMeasure the density, then ask a jeweler.
567989
How much do you want to spend?\n\nReal gold (99%) is very yellow in color and too soft for normal jewelry (it's soft somewhat like lead).  If you saw real 99% gold you'd never forget it - it is really quite yellow and nothing else looks like it.\n\nFor jewelry, you wouldn't even want real gold, and the things that are added (silver, nickel, etc.) to make it harder always add a 'silver' luster to it (they HAVE to if you think about it - they are silver in color).  Adding copper would shift it to the 'red' side, but it doesn't really make it like the original pure yellow color.\n\nFor gold bullion, you're talking about real money, so if there is any question as to its purity, you can take it to a precision laboratory and they can give you a report on exactly what is in it.  Cost is about $100 for 12 elements, and they will report how much silver, nickel, etc. down to parts per million if you want.\n\nI'd say for jewelry (unless you're going to spend a LOT of money), it isn't worth buying jewelry with a high gold content (partly for the reason you mention).  High gold content jewelry wears out easily and its value is always in question so is impractical (its too expensive to wear).  Buy Krugerands if you want an investment.\n\nBut if you've got money to burn, there is nothing like a real gold necklace or bracelet:  it is heavy, yellow, and feels great on your skin!  But unless you're Donald Trump, it's a waste (I don't think even he would wear pure gold).  The only reason to do it:  because YOU like it.\n\nDensity measurements would confirm solid gold, but they are a little tricky to perform and the accuracy isn't as high as the analytical measurements.\n\nThere is one test you can easily perform: ever heard of the acid test?  You can dunk the jewelry in acid, and if it starts foaming and dissolving, it's not pure gold - but then again, jewelry should not BE pure gold.