Properties
Gold is a mineral and a metal. On the periodic table it has the Au and atomic number 79.
Gold is a great conductor of heat and electricity. The only two metals better at conducting heat and electricity are copper and silver, making gold incredibly useful in electronics and computers.
Gold is also one of the most corrosion-resistant metals, meaning that rusting is just about impossible. In everyday use, gold does not become dull or discolored, like silver quickly does, and it can only be dissolved using a salty chemical called cyanide.
Gold is usually yellow in color. But other metals can be added to gold to change its color. For example, adding nickel or platinum create a “white gold,” and adding copper makes “rose gold.”
Source courtesy of: http://www.gold.org
