How to identify gold

Still some hundred years ago, at the turn of the century (XIX-XX), the gold prospector's profession was the most popular and attractive. Thousands of luck hunters went to Alaska in search of the golden sand. Many writers turned to this topic. Jack London in a few novels beautifully described the period of the gold rush.

But far from everything that glitters turns out to be gold. How to determine gold? With what you can confuse it? And how not to be mistaken today's gold diggers, stumbled upon the golden grains?

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the size. If a piece of metal found by you has a value of more than two centimeters, then, most likely, you became the owner of the so-called "simpletons gold". So the miners call a pyrite, which is still called a stone, carving a fire, whose resemblance to gold is obvious. There is another mineral - Millerite, which is also very similar to gold, although the difference, of course, is a characteristic shade, therefore we strongly recommend that you carefully look at the color.

Answering the question "How to determine gold?", Let's say that we should pay attention to the brilliance. Gold has a very special shine, it can reflect eighty percent of the sun's rays. None of the above-mentioned gold-like mineral is able to reflect more than fifty-three percent.

Still there is an experiment that will help to understand how to determine gold. For this you will need unglazed porcelain. Spend a piece of the supposed gold on the porcelain and look at the trace that remains. If the strip is golden or metallic, then you are lucky - this is gold. The black or greenish color of the line is a sign of the absence of gold. Still it is possible to dig a sample with a needle. If small fractions are sprinkled, then it's too early to rejoice. Gold is a soft metal, therefore, at such impact it will never give pieces.

How to determine the authenticity of gold in other ways? Try to weigh the found sample. A piece of gold measuring 2х2х2 centimeters will have a weight close to one hundred and forty grams, while the weight of pyrite, for example, of the same size will not exceed forty grams.

There is another option that can help answer the question of how to determine gold. The only thing you need is a powerful magnet. Real gold will never attract a magnet. If this happened, then you have at best a low-grade gold, well, at worst - a gilt trinket. Often from omniscience, you can hear other ways of checking. Vinegar, for example, available in every home, should change the color of the fake if the product will be in it for more than two minutes. The present gold will never change color. But I do not recommend using iodine for testing, as color will change not only fake, but gold and 585 and 750 samples will be irretrievably damaged. Refrain from such experiments. Another home way of testing gold came to us from Soviet times. Then in each pharmacy sold lapisny pencil. On a wet surface of the tested product, a small dash was applied with this miracle pencil. On gold, he left no trace, but the fake was revealed immediately.

Today, when gold prices are very high, the question of how to determine a gold sample is very serious . After all, the price will depend on the price of this precious metal, and the price of the product from it. Today, most experts use XRF X-ray fluorescence. This quick and cheap method is able to determine not only the degree and purity of the sample, but even the karateness of the sample presented, made of precious metal. Platinum, gold, silver, a number of other metals can be instantly checked for authenticity by this method.