22/08/2015
WHY GOLD IS THE MONEY'S PERFECT ELEMENT?
Why has gold been used as money and not any other element? Let’s take a look at the periodic table and the history of gold as money to understand why. The periodic table tells us why the majority of the other elements make such poor choices for money. History then refines the list and edges out the remaining elements.
We can quickly eliminate the noble gases and halogens along the right side of the periodic table. Then, there are 38 elements that corrode or ignite when exposed to air. At the bottom of the table are rows of radioactive elements. Since money must have durability, portability, divisibility, consistency, and intrinsic value many of the transition metals are eliminated. This leaves the precious metal (gold and silver) and the palladium group of platinum metals (platinum, rhodium, and palladium).
So why gold money instead of the other four metals? The use of gold as currency has been traced to the Egyptians in the fourth millennium BC. Silver has an equally long history as money, but it tarnishes. So when rhodium and palladium were discovered in 1803, there was no reason for them to be used as money. In fact, they would have to usurp gold and silver from the money throne. Platinum has a melt point of 3221.6 degrees Fahrenheit which requires a sophisticated furnace which was not available when platinum was discovered. It is important to note that currently there is some investment of both platinum and palladium as monetary metals; however, both are almost exclusively used in industrial applications.
The only remaining element is gold. It is in the sweet spot; strong elemental bond (durable), fits around finger (portable), weight based value (divisible), each unit is same as another (consistent), and not too much of it (intrinsic value). Coupled with a history of money and it is hard to see how any other element meets all this criteria with such balance and grace. On this planet, gold becomes money every time.
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EMPOWER GENTRI
Viromica S. Montoya
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