Element Story - Gold

Gold is an element with atomic number 79, belonging to Group 11 of the periodic table, and is a transition metal. It's a metal with a bright yellow luster, and while very heavy, it's soft with excellent ductility and malleability, allowing it to be easily processed into thin sheets or fine wires. It barely reacts with air and water, so it doesn't rust, and it doesn't dissolve in most acids, making it chemically very stable. Gold conducts electricity and heat well, so it's used in electronic components and precision electrical contacts, and has long been used as a material for jewelry, currency, and artworks. Its high reflectivity and stability are also utilized to protect some parts of spacecraft and satellites. In nature, it's primarily found in pure form or mixed with other metals, and is mined from rocks and river sediments. Gold is a heavy element that is difficult to produce sufficiently through normal nuclear fusion within stars; the r-process, a rapid neutron capture process occurring in extreme environments like neutron star mergers or some supernovae, is being studied as its main formation pathway.