Thursday, June 23, 2011

Gold in Tech- Why and Where


Gold continues to be a key component in successful technological fields. The Cash 4 Gold blog has covered the use of gold technology before, even covering gold technology in space. But the use of gold in tech can also be found a lot closer to home.

Computers and telecommunication devices are commonly seen as one of the most abundant markets for the use of gold in technology. Computers such as Personal PC’s, laptops, servers, and more all use blocks of chips called circuit boards, who’s edges are most commonly gold plated connectors.

Telecommunication devices also commonly contain gold in their internal workings. That means that the cell phone you hold in your hand may very well contain bits of gold. Cell phones usually contain gold plated contacts that work in a similar way to computers.

So why is gold the preferred choice for complex electronics? Why do we constantly find the most precious of all metals in our everyday lives? The World Gold Council explains why gold’s powerful characteristics as the rarest of precious metals makes it the perfect candidate for complex tech uses:

“Gold’s beneficial material properties include outstanding resistance to corrosion, ease of manufacture and high thermal and electrical conductivity. Only silver and copper are better conductors of electricity, but these do not have comparable resistance to tarnishing or corrosion.

Where resistance to tarnish or corrosion is essential, it is therefore common either to use gold or a gold alloy, or to plate gold onto a less noble metal. In electronic applications, the resistance of gold to environmental effects is perhaps its most important quality. It means that the technical performance of gold bonding wires or gold electroplating remains essentially unaltered over time.”

Photos and Sources: http://www.gold.org/technology/uses/electronics/

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