King Midas was desperately poor, but had a good heart. As a reward for his compassion,
the gods granted him a single wish and King Midas, seeking to alleviate his poverty,
immediately wished that everything he touched would turn into solid gold.
The story illustrates the point that, like King Midas, when we think of gold we too
usually focus on only the monetary value of it, whether it be the gold bricks in Fort Knox
or even expensive jewelry. What we don’t realize is that gold plays a much bigger role in
all of our lives. So tonight we are going to explore the non-monetary uses of gold. To do
this, we will first unearth the unique properties of this metal. We will then see how these
characteristics have panned out in the medical field to both alleviate and prevent diseases.
Finally, we will sift through some applications made by NASA.
Now, the first unique characteristic of gold is its extreme density. When we usually think
of dense elements, we think of lead, which is extremely dense. In fact, lead is so dense
that whenever we go to get an x-ray, we must first wear a lead apron to shield and protect
us from radiation. Well, gold, according to the 1996 McMillan Encyclopedia for Earth
Sciences, is one and a half times more dense than lead.
Engineers have already taken advantage of this characteristic by using extremely thin
films of this metal to coat electronic switches and relays. [shows picture] In telephones,
for example, there are over thirty-three [points to picture] of these gold-plated contacts,
which work within the main component of phones, the diaphragm, by transcribing vocal
variations into sound.
Now besides gold being one of the most dense of all metals, it is also one of the most
ductile, [puts picture away] which means that it can be easily stretched while maintaining
its shape. The Gold Institute states that gold is so ductile that a single ounce can be drawn
out into a thin wire over five miles long. [shows second picture] The Mineral Yearbook,
published by the U.S. Department of the Interior, claims that these thin gold wires are
essential to the manufacturing of every single computer, and that other electronics, such
as televisions and VCRs, also depend on these thin gold wires to process messages and
sounds. [puts picture away]
Not only is gold one of the most dense and ductile of all metals, but it’s also the least
corrosive. According to the Joint Research Center for the Adam Technology printed in
the June 5th, 1994 issue of Nature, gold’s surface structure provides little or no room for
bonding. Now, what this means is that molecules tend to slip away, without chemically
affecting, or latching to, gold’s surface. This is why we can never find any gold with any
rust or mold.
Now, combined, these characteristics set the stage for many applications within the health
and medical field. For example, gold is being used to treat Lagophthalmos.
Lagophthalmos is a condition caused by disease or injury which leads to the inability to
close the eye because the eyelid muscle is too week. Now, in the past, doctors would
have to use a needle and a thread to physically sew the eyelids shut in order to keep the
eyes from drying out. But now, according to Dr. Donald J. Bergen at the Southeastern
Eye Center for North Carolina, doctors are able to utilize the dense and non-corrosive
qualities of gold in the form of a gold implant. These implants, weighing between .6 and
1.6 grams, are surgically inserted into the upper lid of the eye and work with gravity to
give the eye the extra weight it needs in order to close properly. And what’s more,
because gold is so non-corrosive, it will not react with the human tear -- the reason, in the
United States alone, over 15,000 patients are able to benefit from the use of this
procedure.
But gold isn’t only being used to treat conditions such as Lagophthalmos. It’s also being
used to treat diseases such as Rheumatory arthritis. Gold has been used in the treatment
of this painful disease since 1927 when European physicians first discovered that
injecting gold compounds into the body alleviated pain. The Arthritis Foundation states
that when gold is injected into the human body, it affects the process which causes joint
pain and swelling, therefore lessening the chance of joint deformity and disability. This
has been so effective that the January 22, 1997 issue of The Lancet calls gold vital to the
treatment of this painful disease.
Now, while studying gold treatment in Rheumatoid arthritis patients, scientists have
discovered shocking new evidence suggesting possible ways to inhibit the HIV virus.
According to AIDs Weekly, September 5th, 1994, researchers at the University of Ohio
have found that a complex mixture of gold and cyanide can inhibit the replication of the
HIV virus in cell cultures. When testing how effective the mixture was in inhibiting the
virus, researchers found that HIV activity was cut in half in the treated cell culture when
compared to the untreated cell culture. The research continues to state that despite a high
concentration of gold, the mixture had little or no effect on cell growth or viability,
suggesting that this mixture may be safe to use in the human body. Now, although this
research is far from being completed, it has shown enough progress that the university
has already filed a patent application for the use of this therapeutic agent.
Now, the medical industry aren’t [sic] the only ones who are able to take advantage of
gold’s unique characteristics. But, NASA is also using gold several different ways in
space. The first is in the area of communication. According to Ned Rozell from the
Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, satellites in space depend on gold to
process static-free signals when broadcasting messages back from the earth. In fact, the
Pathfinder, the robotic geologist developed by NASA, which recently took photographs
of rocks and soil on Mars, couldn’t relay its findings back to the earth without the use of
this circuitry.
But, besides enabling communication in space, gold also aids in the exploration of space
in two unique ways. The first way takes advantage of gold’s non-corrosiveness. Now, the
Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska continues to state that fine powder gold
makes the world’s best lubricant for rocket engines. It makes the best lubricant, because
unlike oil, which inevitably breaks down due to solar radiation, gold is not affected by
this or evaporation, therefore making it a critical element of space travel.
Now, the second way that gold aids in the exploration of space takes advantage of gold’s
extreme density. [shows third picture] According to a 1997 exhibit at the California State
Mining and Mineral Museum, a gold coating of only 6 millionths of an inch thick can
reflect all heat, all light and all radiation. [points to picture] As seen here, the astronaut’s
helmet, suits and visor are completely coated with gold to shield and protect this
astronaut from harmful radiation. [puts picture away]
But besides enabling communication and exploration in space, gold, believe it or not, is
also working to preserve a bit of our own culture. Now once formed, gold maintains its
shape despite all environmental conditions. It is for this reason that gold is the material
selected to press Sounds of Earth, [shows fourth picture] which according to Carl Sagan
in his book Cosmos, was sent aboard the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 and is only now
exiting our solar system. The record jacket gives instructions on how to play the record in
scientific notation, while the record itself contains information about the Earth’s culture
and civilization, included on this record is information about our genes, our anatomy, our
DNA. The record includes greetings from over 60 different cultures as well as the music.
We launched the record with hope that a bit of our culture would be preserved or perhaps
even found by distant beings. And because gold is so durable, this golden record, [points
to picture] which tells so much about the Earth’s journey through space and time, will
long outlive all life on planet Earth. [puts picture away]
Now, while gold will continue to play an important role monetarily, it should now be
clear that the non-monetary uses of gold have a much bigger impact on our daily lives.
On Earth, doctors are able to utilize the characteristics of density, ductility and noncorrosiveness to treat conditions such as Lagophthalmos, Rheumatory arthritis and
potentially even the HIV virus. In space, NASA is able to utilize these very same
characteristics to enable satellite communication, exploration and to preserve a bit of our
own culture. It should now be apparent that these doctors, researchers and engineers who
are using gold in non-monetary ways, to enrich our every day lives, truly do possess the
real Midas touch.