Text 30506, 65 rader
Skriven 2009-03-30 21:10:45 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Gold
============
Hello Robert,

On Sunday March 29 2009 18:05, you wrote to me:

 MV>> Neither diamond nor gold have much intrinsic value. Both have
 MV>> limited application in industry and both are not irriplaceable.

 RB> Not true, as gold does not corrode

It dissolves in "Kings water". Yes, it is very corrosion resitant. But so is
stainless steel...

 RB> and is highly conductive (heat and electricity),

Actually its electric conductance is LESS than that of copper. (45.2 x 10^6
S/m2 vs 59.6). Silver is slighty better. (63.01 S/m2)

Gold is used by audio freeks for plating in contacts, But as I have stated
elsewhere, Nickel is just as good for all practical purposes.

 RB> and diamond is the  hardest-known substance

True, but what do you need that for? you only need something harder than what
you want to cut. So unless you want to cut carborundum do you need a diamond
cutter.

 RB>  and is also a good heat conductor.

But not unique in that.

 RB>  At present, neither is replaceable for certain uses.

Such as?

 RB> Gold electrical contacts prevent connection deterioration over time
 RB> (platinum is also good, but much more expensive and harder to work),

See above, nickel is just as good.

Actually I think nickel is better. Gold is soft, it wears off quicker then
nickel when the contacts are plugged in and out very often.

 RB> and diamond deposited on electronic chips increases the thermal
 RB> transfer rate, making for a cooler chip.

There are other ways.

 RB> There are also things known as diamond cutters or saw blades for hard
 RB> materials.

I know. Not irriplaceable either.

 RB> You're mainly talking about bulk products and hoarding, where both
 RB> gold and diamonds _would_ be replaceable _if_ there was anything
 RB> equally desirable to replace them with. But at present, and for the
 RB> last few thousand years, that hasn't been the case.

The fact remains that gold and diamond are very sparsely used in industry and
that niether of them are irriplaceable.


Cheers, Michiel

--- GoldED+/W32-MINGW 1.1.5-b20070503
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