BFMracing
General Category => General Board => Cogitative Corner => Topic started by: MrMxyzptlk on July 18, 2013, 10:34:01 AM
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They say it's because it's "one of the heaviest elements that was forged in the violent collisions of neutron stars, the densest of all stars." (From a news report, and pretty much the same line I've heard many times the past few weeks when reading recent articles about the rarity of gold. One of the astro-science TeeVee shows recently claimed that: "all the gold in the universe would fill three Olympic pools.")
"Sure," I think to myself, "It is the heaviest of all the naturally-occurring/stable ones we know of, right?" (That would make it pretty rare, then, right?)
"Wrong!!" my left-brain screams.
What about Mercury through Radium??? (And let's not forget the Actiniod Series, too!)
They're ALL heavier (AU-wise) than Gold, right?
Anyone here have the answer to if Mercury-Radium elements are rarer than gold on earth, or why they're not as rare/precious? (If that's so, or not....)
(My astrophysicist friend is away on vacation, you see, so I'm asking here. :winkgrin: )
I certainly HOPE that Radium is rarer than Gold! :doh: ::)
For reference, here's a handy Periodic Table of the Elements (http://www.ptable.com/).
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It might be related to stability issues/ quantum effects, because these don't lead to a smooth curve as mass increases but introduce some "jaggedness" to the binding energy of an atomic nucleus, but I don't see that gold should stand out. Then again, the mechanics of heavy nuclei is very poorly understood so...
Gold is very rare, but as far as I can see it's no more rare than several other elements, including several lighter ones! The data I am using might be out-of-date though (source: a 1996 book called "Alchemy of the Heavens", by Ken Croswell).
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I, personally, have seen more gold than mercury and radium.