People’s fascination with the idea of creating gold from the more common element, including such lead, dates back a long time, and one of the primary focuses of alchemy, a science that was practiced in antiquity and the middle ages, was the generation of gold from lead. However, a full grasp of nuclear physics did not emerge until the 20th century, and it was not until then that the transformation of chemical elements became a reality.
In 1924, Japanese researcher Hantaro Nagaoka was the first person to employ neutron bombardment to manufacture gold from mercury. He did this using the technique. An American team, uninformed of Nagaoka’s earlier research, carried out same experiment in 1941, attaining the same result, and establishing that the gold isotope created by it are all radioactive.
This was the first time that this was shown to be the case. Irradiating platinum & mercury with neutron in nuclear reactor is now a viable method for the production of gold.
In addition to its applications in jewelry, glass, & electronics, gold is also employed as a bouillon. Approximately 75 percent of the gold that is mined is used in the jewelry industry. The color of gold used for jewelry could be altered in a number of different ways, depending on the other metals that are alloyed with it.
Colloidal gold can be used to color glass red and purple, & metallic gold can be utilized as a thin layer to reflect heat of the sun’s rays on the windows of huge buildings. The electronic industry makes use of gold electroplating as a means of shielding copper components and enhancing their capacity to be soldered.
The most common applications for metal are in the manufacture of jewelry, glass, & a variety of components for technological gadgets.
Embroidery can be done with gold thread, which can be manufactured.
A very thin layer of this metal is applied to the windows of the large building in order to reflect the heat that is generated by the sun’s rays.
In addition to this, gold has use in the medical field. Cancer patients are treated with the radioactive isotope Au-198 from this substance.