About

Gold is a bright, slightly reddish-yellow, dense, and soft precious metal, famous for being the most malleable and ductile of all metals. Valued since antiquity for its beauty, rarity, and extreme resistance to corrosion, it is used for coinage, jewelry, and as a financial standard. It is also an excellent electrical conductor, used to plate connectors in high-end electronics.

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number79

Atomic Weight196.967 u

Neutrons (common)118

Electron Configuration[Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹

Full Configuration1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹

Electrons per Shell2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 1

Electronegativity2.54

Electron Affinity222.747 kJ/mol

Oxidation States-1, +1, +2, +3, +5

Covalent Radius136 pm

Van der Waals Radius166 pm

Ionic Radius137 pm

Periodic Table Position

Group11

Period6

BlockD

Chemical SeriesTransition metals

Physical Properties

State at STPsolid

Appearancemetallic yellow

Crystal Structurefcc

Magnetic Orderingdiamagnetic

Speed of Sound2,030 m/s

Poisson Ratio0.44

Thermal Properties

Melting Point1,337.33 K

Boiling Point3,243 K

Triple Point1,337.33 K

Thermal Expansion0 1/K

Thermal Conductivity318 W/(m·K)

Specific Heat0.129 J/(g·K)

Molar Heat25.4 J/(mol·K)

Heat of Fusion12.55 kJ/mol

Heat of Vaporization324 kJ/mol

Abundance

In Earth's Crust0.004 ppm

In Ocean0 ppm

In Solar System0.001 ppm

In Human Body0.003 ppm

In Universe0.001 ppm

Discovery

Discovered byAncient civilizations

Discovery YearKnown since antiquity

Occurrenceprimordial

CAS Number7440-57-5

Electron Configuration

Energy

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Isotopes of Gold

Symbol ▲	Mass (u) ▲	Abundance ▲	Half-life ▲	Decay Mode ▲
¹⁹⁷Au	196.966570	100%	Stable	Stable

Interactive Visualization

Explore the 3D Bohr model of Gold in our interactive viewer.

View 3D Model of Gold