Capcom Buys K2 Studios

Capcom announced over the weekend that they've bought K2 Studios, best known for their work on the more recent, more rubbish Tenchu games, as well as Valhalla Knights . That's probably not the reason for the purchase, though: K2 also did some outsource work for Capcom on Lost Planet, and are also helping SNK with the latest Samurai Shodown. The move's aimed at making Capcom's "game development activities more efficient and speedy", while "Capcom also believes that pursuing a business strategy based on closer ties with K2 will help increase the value of the entire Capcom Group". And hey, who are we to argue.

K2 To Become Wholly Owned Subsidiary Through Simple Exchange of Stock [Capcom]

Rumor: Grand Theft Auto IV Achievements Leaked

The full list of Xbox 360 Achievements for Grand Theft Auto IV may have been leaked, with two separate sources posting a list of fifty supposed Gamerscore-building accomplishments. The list includes some expected Achievements for things like hidden packages, stunt jumps, mission completions and mini-games, but some of the alleged feats are interesting and unique. There are potential plot-spoiling details included within, so beware when making the jump.
Here's a sampling of personal favorites.

Manhunt 15G - Complete the most wanted side missions from the police computer.
Assassin's Greed 20G - Complete all 9 assassin missions.
Warm Coffee 5G - Successfully date a girl to be invited into her house.
Key To The City 100G - Achieve 100% in "Game progress" statistic.
Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie 10G - Kill a Rockstar developer in a ranked multiplayer match.
Consider it all unconfirmed, as the list could be fabricated and we haven't received confirmation or denial from Rockstar themselves.
For the full list of rumored GTA IV Achievements, hit up the sources.

RUMOR: Complete Grand Theft Auto 4 Achievement List [Xbox 360 Achievements]

5 Steps to Increase your Google Page Rank

Google Page rank is based on back links. Back links are Links pointing to your website from another website. The more back links you have the higher your PR will be.

1. Join forums, forums are a great way to achieve links to your website. In most forums you are allowed to have a signature and in your signature you can put a link to your website. But another important note to look on is making sure the forum is somewhat related to your website. You will still get credit if it's not, but if it's related to your website than you will be accomplishing two tasks at once.

You will be advertising for your website (bringing in targeted traffic) You will also be building your websites presence.

Your websites presence is very important to your survival. The more people see, or hear about your website the more credibility you will have and this increases your chances of having these visitors come back and possibly become leads.

2. Submit to search engine directories. Search engine directories are a good way to get a free link to your website. They also increase your chances at being listed higher on popular search engines like Google, and overture.

Most search engine directories allow you to submit to their website for free. This will allow you to increase your web presence by being listed on another search engine, and it will also be a free link.

Remember the more links you have the higher your PR will be

3. Using ezine ads (or newsletters). Creating an ezine will probably be the most beneficial step you can take to increasing your web presence. When you create an ezine you will be able to keep visitors coming back to your website for more by using signatures and giving special deals.

Ezine's will also allow you to increase your back links. By creating an ezine you can submit your information about your ezine to an ezine directory. This directory will than link to your website(thus giving you a free link).

4. Creating and publishing articles. Articles are an easy source of generating new traffic. You can include your signature in your article. This will bring in more traffic from article submission directories.

Your signature usually consists of 4 to 8 lines. Usually the first line would be the title of the website that you are trying to advertise. The last line would be the link to the website and the lines in between these would be a sales pitch to draw your viewers into your website.

5. Links from related websites. Gaining links from related websites can be one of the most frustrating tasks you can attempt.

They are very easy to find, but can be somewhat difficult to obtain links from.

To find related websites, all you have to do is go to a search engine... say Google... and type in your subject. Maybe your website is based on ford mustangs.

You go to Google and type in ford mustangs, than you look around for pages that are somewhat related to your website. After you have done this (which should be very easy) you have to contact them in some way to get your link posted on their website. This can be the most difficult task because a lot of webmasters ignore e-mail's from people requesting links because they don't see the importance of it at the time. Some other reasons could be that they are rarely online, or they delete spam mail and sometimes delete their important emails in the process.

Important note: When looking for link partners don't just link with websites that have a page rank of 4 or higher. Link with anyone and everyone you get a chance to. If you link to someone that has a page rank of zero, this will not hurt your page rank. It will only increase it because you are getting a link back to your website. Google doesn't look at your back links page ranks to determine what yours is going to be. It simply looks at how many back links you have.

So if Google one day decided to link to a website that was just created and this website has a page rank of 0 and has a domain that goes something like this: mywebsite.geocities.com it's page rank wouldn't increase even though Google's page rank is 10, it's rank would still be zero because it would only have that one back link.

Fourth GTA IV Trailer Released

Here's the lastest trailer of the coming game GTA 4 , enjoy.



Here's the is a hardcore analysis of this latest trailer




Interested? Visit

Keeley Hazell -Flashing Lights

Keeley Hazell Compilation

Simply too hot!

Beckham wins 100th cap for England

PARIS, March 26 - David Beckham showed he could still play a role for England when he won his 100th cap in a 1-0 defeat to France in a friendly on Wednesday.
The LA Galaxy midfielder looked a little rusty at times but gave a typically hard-working performance at the Stade de France and was involved in much of England's attacking play before being replaced by David Bentley in the 63rd minute.
The 32-year-old, who made his England debut against Moldova in a World Cup qualifier in September 1996, became only the fifth English player to achieve a century of appearances for his country.
Billy Wright (105 caps) was the first to reach the milestone in 1959 and was subsequently followed by Bobby Charlton (106), Bobby Moore (108) and England's record appearance holder Peter Shilton (125).
Beckham won his 99th cap in England's 3-2 home defeat against Croatia in a Euro qualifier at Wembley last November.
Camera flashes sparkled around the stadium when the former Manchester United favourite took his first corner kick, which was cleared by the French defence in the sixth minute.
Beckham then fell just short of netting his 18th goal for his country when he failed to connect at the far post with a low Ashley Cole cross.
GOLDEN BOOTS
Wearing golden boots to mark the milestone, Beckham also got the opportunity to show his defending skills, often switching to a full back position with former United team mate Wes Brown.
He picked up a yellow card eight minutes before the interval when his lack of condition forced him to pull Franck Ribery's shirt.
Beckham saved his team from the threat posed by Nicolas Anelka by beating the Chelsea forward to the ball just before being replaced by Bentley to a standing ovation from both the French and English fans.
His last contribution was a trademark 50-metre crossfield pass to Stewart Downing.
Then his number flashed up on the replacement board and he left applauding the fans who were cheering him.
"I'm very honoured," he told Sky Sports. "From when I started playing I never dreamed I'd get to 100 and beyond. It's every player's dream to play for their country let alone get 100 caps.
"I'm happy but I want to carry on."
Coach Fabio Capello overlooked him for the friendly against Switzerland last month and, asked if he had proved a point to the new man, Beckham said: "I proved my fitness, I felt fresh and sharp and it was good to be here as Paris is one of my favourite places in the world.
"It's a long way from Leytonstone (Beckham's London birthplace) but I'm very proud. My family are all here.
"There's been highs and lows, more highs obviously, and I would like to thank the fans who have supported me."
France defender William Gallas approached Beckham at fulltime to swap shirts but the England man declined. "He did ask me but I think he forgot what game it was for me," he said.



GOGo Becks! We will always support you!

Flash - Line Rider

This is one of the most favourite flash I have every seen.
Have fun with it, mate.

Here's one of the video made with Linerider.

Hammer Comes Down On Xbox Live Cheaters

Last year, MIcrosoft's Larry Hryb issued a stark warning to Xbox Live users in the wake of some issues with identity theft and achievement tampering. Today, Microsoft have taken action against those found to be in violation of the service's code of conduct. A number of accounts have been "affected", with punishments ranging from a resetting of gamerscore to public shamings (above) to permanent bannings to all of the above. Those caught, you have, oh, none of our sympathies. Those unaffected, nothing more to see here, move along.
Gamerscore Correction [Microsoft]

How to Make Money Selling on eBay

How to Make Money Selling Antiques on eBay

Many people have said that antiques and collectibles are some of the most difficult items to start selling on eBay. However, people also said that these items have good potential on becoming the biggest sales on eBay.

So just what are the things a new eBay seller must know before setting up an auction to list their first antique or collectible for sale on eBay?

First of all, the markets of both the antiques and collectibles are moving slow. Antiques and collectibles trading aren't active like most other markets where huge qualities were transacted every day. So if you want to turn a fast profit with antiques and collectibles, you would do better with seasonal, general, or limited lifetime items.

eBay is a great marketplace to make money with antiques and collectibles selling, but these goods aren’t typically fast sellers. This is mainly due to the limited supply of antiques and collectibles. They are rare items and cannot easily be obtained in bulk, so the supply is very limited. On the other hand, the demand is also limited to people who both have the interest and can afford the items. As you can see, you have to be prepared for keeping certain antiques and collectibles with you for some time before the right customers come to you and buy your items.

Another challenge that new eBay sellers have to face is the high stock purchasing cost of an antique business. These goods don’t come cheap. In addition of that, finding a great deal on a rare item has a lot to do with luck and connections.

To achieve success in antique business, you need have a passion on antiques and collectibles and also have good knowledge on these items. One way to offset the high stock purchasing cost and the limited sales potential of antiques and collectibles is to use several sales channels. Listing your items on eBay is a good way to make lucrative profits, but you might not be able to clear out your stock with eBay alone. Search for other online and offline auctions dedicated to antiques. Contact your local dealers and get to know them. They are often a useful source of information.

If you do have expert knowledge on items that you are selling, make sure potential customers know. They will be more likely to purchase from someone who has good knowledge and experience in antiques or collectibles. They will expect that the item they are getting is valuable, not a cheap (or expensive) imitation. By telling them your knowledge of antiques and collectibles, you are reassuring your potential customers that they are paying for something really rare and wonderful. Customers may also recommend you to their friends and possibly bring repeat business to you if you provide good service to them. Your excellence customer service and high quality of your products will attract buyers keep on purchasing from you.

Lastly, focus on brands and trends that have persistent value. Some brands are popular for their rarity or their resilient craftsmanship and beauty. These brands will always have consistent demand. As for market trends, beware for hot fads that are here today and gone tomorrow.

eBay is well known for its antiques and collectibles, and for good reason. This Internet marketplace with its worldwide popularity is the perfect place to list hard to find items. Oftentimes, they are able to buy and sell items that they are interested, which makes their Internet auctioning look more like play than work. Each auction set up for reselling antiques and collectible does require some effort, but the payoffs are worth it.

How to Make Money by Thrift Selling on Ebay
Thrift selling means selling lots of unique products on eBay that were bought at a cheap price, typically at thrift stores. These product or items are occasionally not in perfect condition. They were either worn or damaged, but buyers like them because they are unique and don't cost much money to purchase. Thrift selling might not sound very profitable, but it can be if you do things right.

How to Find Thrift Stores
You can visit thethriftshopper.com to find the thrift stores that near your area. Thethriftshopper.com directory contains over 7,000 thrift stores in the United States. You may search by zip or city/state.

For people outside US, you may use Google and Yahoo to find thrift stores on your areas. Alternatively you can post your question in Yahoo Answer or in forums. Those experienced thrift shoppers see your questions may post their answer to help you find thrift stores near your area.

Keep Record of Your Auction Listings
There are a lot of things thrift sellers need to do. Their inventory is in bulk; they will frequently obtain hundreds of different items in their inventory at a given time. So it will be necessary for them to start lots of auctions to list each of their unique items. Thrift sellers must keep track of their items and their listings, so excellent book keeping is needed to ensure everything run smoothly. If you decide to start a thrift selling on eBay, you should look for a book keeping program that you’re comfortable with. Microsoft Excel is a good low-frills spreadsheet program. You may use it to keep track of your goods, your eBay auctions, and your shipping.

Excel spreadsheets are also helpful tools for calculating your net profits over time. Use them to find out which items have sold well, and which doesn't perform well.

Keep Your Stock Orderly and Neat
While you’re monitoring your eBay auctions and stock with Excel, spend time to organize your physical inventory as well. You don’t want to need to dig through a messy heap of stocks to search for the one that needs to be delivered. Organize your spaces to store your goods orderly. Label each item with a post-it note consisting the listing number. That way, you can find the item needed to ship easier and faster.

Maintain Good Reputation in eBay
Seller’s reputation is very important when making money on eBay. Since thrift items are usually used items which might have some damages, so the item description has to clearly specify the condition of your item. Be honest to disclose any damage the item has sustained, and include a picture of the worn or damaged areas. Specify that buyers purchase the items “as is”, and emphasize that you don't know the items’ histories and are not responsible for item failure. This may sound harsh, but you need to include these descriptions to protect yourself.

Use Listing Tools to Help Manage Your Auctions
There are good tools that you can use to make your thrift selling process easier. Bulk listers are tools that designed to start many listings at a time. This is a real time saver for eBay sellers need to start hundreds of auctions at the same time. Turbo Lister is the most popular bulk listing tool you can use. There is no cost to download and use this tool. The tool can be downloaded at:

http://pages.ebay.com/turbo_lister/

Conclusion
You can get thrift items at low price usually, but they can be costly if you make mistakes in your inventory management. Keep everything orderly and easy-to-find. Use software tool to help manage your listings. And provide buyers an honest description of an item’s condition. Building a good reputation is important to the success of your eBay business. So whatever you sell on eBay, always be friendly and helpful to your buyers.

Domains Yahoo Information

Having put up more than a few Web sites myself, one of the easiest ways I've found to get your domains set up and running is to simply go through domain registration in Yahoo.

Yahoo will register your domains' names for under $10 a year, though as of this writing, Yahoo is having a sale on domains for $2.99 per year. That's a lot cheaper than some registrars I've seen that are still trying to charge $20 or more just for domains.

Once you get your domain registered, you still need to host it somewhere. Again, Yahoo has a simple answer, or several simple answers, in its Geocities service. You can plunk down your domains for free at Yahoo Geocities, but you'll have ads. For a nominal fee ($4.95 per month) you can get 500 MB storage and 25 GB per month transfer -- that's more than enough for most starter sites.

If you host your domains through Yahoo Geocities, you'll get plenty of tools to help you design and manage your site, enough to do just about anything legal you might want to do on the Net.

You'll have access to Yahoo web page templates as well as a point-and-click designer, in addition to the ability to manually play with your domains' HTML.

Yahoo also gives you choices for uploading, using their easy upload manager or the more traditional FTP for large sites. E-mail is part of the package.

A recent addition to the Yahoo Geocities tools is the ability to start and manage a blog on your domains.

All in all, registering and hosting your domains through Yahoo is an easy solution for a home user or small business.

5 Google Affiliate Secrets To Help You Earn Thousands Of Dollars Monthly

There is no doubt that Google affiliates rank as some of the most successful affiliates anywhere on the web.
Yet few understand the reason behind this success. Even the majority of Google affiliates who are yet to start making huge five figure checks do not quite understand why the Google Adsense program has flourished so much within such a short time.
Anybody who understands the real secrets behind the phenomenal rise of Google affiliates will be in a much better position to benefit and profit from it, whether or not they are current Adsense affiliates.

1. Google Affiliates Are Riding On The Most Dramatic Shift In The Advertising Industry In History

A few webmasters think that this Adsense and pay per click affiliate mania is a passing fad. All indications are that this is not the case. If anything mounting evidence points to one of the most dramatic and rapid shifts in advertising industry history. You can’t beat the deal to advertisers where they pay only for actual traffic to their website and more so when they can easily calculate their conversion rate on that traffic and predict their profit margin on the deal. This arrangement cannot be duplicated on TV or in any other offline media with so much precision and accuracy.
This means that advertising revenue will continue to shift away from other media and will move online at an even more rapid rate than is the case currently. And not just any online mediums like banner ads for example. The revenue will specifically shift to pay per click text ads. If you need some proof just look at the Google numbers in recent months, and most of it is being generated by PPC ad revenue.
What does that mean to a blogger or webmaster? It means huge and increasing profits as the number of advertisers grows and the competition between them for clicks grows fiercer.
It means that any expert in any tiny little niche will find it increasingly easier to make a good regular income from a low traffic targeted site with higher paying, more valuable Adsense keywords.

2. Google Affiliates Recognize That Content Is Not King, It’s Everything

Writers, or rather good writers are already enjoying a huge advantage as Google affiliates. Only well written content will attract quality traffic and only interesting engrossing content will keep that traffic coming back again and again. Only high-quality keyword rich content will keep a site high in search engine rankings and thus guarantee enough traffic to keep Google affiliate adsense earnings high.

3. Top Google Affiliates Are All Using The Blog Secret

Blogs were created for linking and everybody knows that links are closely related to traffic in two ways, firstly they generate traffic but more importantly, they help a site achieve high search engine rankings with usually opens the floodgates of traffic. Top Google affiliates are using this secret to keep those big fat Google affiliate Adsense checks arriving by special courier every month.
Most top Google affiliates have dozens of blogs loaded with the right keywords and engaging content. With just a little SEO (search engine optimization) skills, these new breed of high flying online professionals are able to get their sites to the top of search engine rankings. It is then minimal maintenance as they sit back and watch the traffic volumes flow to their blogs already loaded with Adsense ads. The result of all this is that the clicks happening at their sites shoots up and with it their Google affiliate Adsense earnings.

4. Google Affiliates Are Using The Secret of The Hook

In advertising it is called the hook. Journalists call it the angle or slant of the story. Both mean the same thing. It is all about picking up a subject and asking yourself, what aspect of it most interests your audience? If you answer that question accurately then your ad or your article will attract maximum interest.
Online this is becoming more critical by the day. Content that is not slanted to fit the interests and needs of you audience will not attract enough interest and this impacts on the traffic of your blog or site and ultimately on your Google affiliate adsense earnings.
Top Google affiliates recognize this fact and they take great care to get their hook right. It is usually reflected in the headlines they use in their content. It takes ages to write because it has to include the right valuable adsense keywords. But then the results clearly show in the number of figures in their monthly Adsense checks.

5. Google Affiliates Are Always Looking To Supply Scarce Information

Have you noticed that the more scarce the information, the higher paying the Google affiliate adsense keywords related to that particular subject? If you haven't I'll bet that you're not one of the top Google Affiliates. You can't be.Top Google affiliates use this as one of their most valuable keys in opening the doors to their fat check monthly income. That's why before they even find the right "hook," they usually ensure that they are dealing with the right subject and the right keyword. It means that even with a low traffic site, a Google affiliate can enjoy a very high monthly income.

Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition Details

North American gamers may not be getting a boss "steel" colored PlayStation 3 and DualShock 3 like the Japanese, but they are getting a solid limited edition release for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The premium package for Konami's tactical espionage action freak out contains the following stuff. Sorry, no Old Snake fake mustache accessory included.

• Collectible metal box
• Bonus Blu-ray disc with two "making of" documentaries, four chapters of the graphic novel and Metal Gear import soundtrack
• $85 price tag

And if you pre-order it now, GameStop promises you an "exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 art book" at the time of purchase. Not bad, I suppose, but not something I see myself sprinting to my nearest franchise location with an eighty-five dollar bill in hand. They still make those, right?

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition

Hair Loss Treatment and Prevention

Are There Ways To Restore Hair?

Generalized hair loss - resulting from certain illnesses and infections, vitamin deficiencies, as a side effect of medication or medical treatment, and following exposure to toxic substances - is usually temporary. Because these processes do not damage the hair roots, hair will regrow in the vast majority of people.

Patchy hair loss caused by ringworm is easily reversed with anti-ringworm treatment. Patchy hair loss caused by alopecia areata cannot be cured, although the condition usually clears completely by itself within six months to a year.

Balding in men is normal, and no treatment is required if the person is comfortable with the appearance. Treatments for this condition are designed to reverse the normal and natural course of events. Ways to restore hair in men who are balding include:

• Camouflage techniques
• Plastic surgery techniques
• Drug treatments

Camouflage Techniques

Techniques for camouflaging (hiding) the hair loss include:

• Toupees and hairpieces
• Hair weaving

Toupees And Hairpieces

Toupees and hairpieces may be complete or partial, and they may be made of artificial fiber or natural hair. The overall cosmetic effect is dependent on the skill with which the color, thickness, and hair length are matched.

The goal is for the added hair to look natural, and this is difficult if the transformation is made all at once. A useful strategy it is use two or three hairpieces over the course of a few months, each slightly thicker than the previous one.

Hairpieces frequently look unnatural because they contain too much hair. A good hairdresser may be very helpful with careful positioning, trimming, and securely fixing of the hairpiece.

Hair Weaving

This technique allows artificial or natural hair to be anchored onto, or braided into, the remaining natural hair. Some of the natural hair is woven or braided together to act as an anchor onto which either artificial or natural hair tufts are sewn, woven, knitted, or glued.

The effect is semi-permanent, and the hair can be trimmed and styled to blend in with the natural hair. However, as the natural hair grows, the anchoring needs to be tightened every six to eight weeks, which can be expensive. Also, vigorous washing may loosen the new hair.

Need To Know: A camouflage technique used in the past was the implantation of synthetic hair directly into the scalp. This technique is not recommended because it can result in scars, infection, and abscesses of the scalp and brain. Abscesses are pus-filled cavities surrounded by inflamed tissue. Because of the high rate of infection, the use of hair implants made of artificial fibers has been banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Plastic Surgery Techniques

Plastic surgery can help to lessen the visible effects of baldness. Techniques include:

• Hair transplantation
• Scalp flap transfer
• Skin expansion
• Serial excision

Hair Transplantation

This is the traditional method of resurfacing bald areas of scalp with hair. Plugs of bald scalp are removed and then filled with plugs of scalp containing several hair roots taken from hair-bearing areas. These grafts hear into their new locations, and the hair follicles eventually grow.

The number of grafts required and the length of a treatment session will vary, depending on the degree of baldness. Several operations may be required, and the procedure can be expensive. The technique does leave many small scars on the donor sites, but these are not usually apparent.

Scalp Flap Transfer

This technique is based on the fact that the sides of the scalp (above the ears) and the back of the scalp usually remain hair-bearing. A long thin "flap" of hair-bearing scalp is removed and replaced across a bald patch to create a dense band of normal hair growth. Parts of the bald scalp may be removed as part of the procedure. The donor site is closed by stretching the adjacent scalp.

This technique can replace hair across a large area of bald scalp. The thick hair growth looks normal. The very narrow scars are easily hidden among the hair.

Skin Expansion

In this technique, one or more inflatable bags are inserted in pockets under areas of hair-bearing scalp adjacent to the bald patch. These bags, or expanders, are connected to valves that are also implanted under the skin. After the scalp has healed following the surgery, saline is injected into the valves, causing the expanders to gradually enlarge and stretch the overlying hairy scalp.

After a number of injections, over a period of some weeks or months, the expanders are so large that they have stretched out the hairy scalp to a greatly increased area. At a second operation, the bald scalp can be removed and the expanded hair scalp can be stretched to take its place.

This technique can produce excellent results, but during the interim period, while the expanders are getting bigger, the appearance can be bizarre. In addition, any procedure involving implanted foreign material may be complicated by infection.

Serial Excision

In this technique, as much of the bald area as possible is surgically removed in the first operation. The adjacent hair-bearing areas of scalp are pulled in close to the bald area, accepting the fact that some bald scalp will remain. This process is then repeated one or more times at a later date, so that the bald area is eventually removed.

Need To Know: Q: Who is qualified to perform hair restoration surgery? A: In order to ensure maximum safety and the best-looking results, choose a board-certified dermatologic surgeon who is an expert in the causes and treatment of hair loss. Since the success of the procedure greatly relies on the physician's skill and creativity, it's important to see a dermatologic surgeon with training and experience. Dermatologic surgeons invented hair transplant procedures in the 1950s.

Need To Know: Q: Is it safe to have surgery at hair treatment clinics? A: Many hair treatment clinics also offer surgery for baldness. But it is essential that anyone interested should be fully satisfied about the quality of the care offered, before agreeing to a costly series of operations that do involve some risk.

Drug Treatments

Two medications have been approved for the treatment of hair loss:

• Minoxidil (Rogaine)
• Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar)

Both of these medications also can be used preventively to help keep hair loss from happening.

Minoxidil (Rogaine)

Minoxidil (sold under the brand name Rogaine and also available generically) is applied to the scalp to stimulate hair growth in adult men and women. Medication applied to the body is called "topical" medication.

In the U.S., minoxidil is available without a prescription. The exact way in which this medicine works is not known.

Side effects of minoxidil are rare and include:

• Itching or skin rash on the scalp
• Headaches
• Dizzy spells
• Irregular heartbeat or chest pains
• Decreased sexual ability or desire

Need To Know: Minoxidil should not be combined with the topical application of corticosteriods (cortisone-like medicines), petrolatum (Vaseline), or tretinoin (Retin-A), because the use of these products on the scalp may cause too much minoxidil to be absorbed into the body. In addition, individuals with other skin problems or irritations, heart disease, or high blood pressure may not be able to take minoxidil, because more serious problems may develop.

Minoxidil does not work for everyone, and it does have some limitations:

• Minoxidil may help hair to grow in 10% to 20% of the population, and in 90% it may slow the loss of hair.
• If hair growth is going to occur with the use of minoxidil, it usually occurs after the medicine has been used for several months.
• When the use of minoxidil is discontinued, hair loss will recur.
• If minoxidil is not allowed to completely dry (which may take two to four hours), it may stain clothing, hats, and bed linen.

Nice To Know: Minoxidil originally was used as a treatment for high blood pressure and was found to cause increased hair growth all over the body in people taking it regularly. It was then prepared as a lotion for direct application to the scalp.

Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar)

Finasteride (sold under the brand names of Propecia or Proscar) is a medication taken by mouth. It belongs to a group of medicines called enzyme inhibitors. It is primarily used to treat urinary problems cause by enlargement of the prostate in men (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH).

Finasteride has been found to stimulate hair growth in some men. Women, however, should not take finasteride. The medication is available only with a doctor's prescription. In clinical studies, it stopped hair loss in 83% of men.

If hair growth is going to occur with the use of finasteride, it usually will happen after the medicine has been used for about three months. The effect lasts only as long as the medicine is taken; new hair is lost within a year after finasteride treatment is stopped.

Side effects of finasteride are uncommon and include:

• Breast enlargement and tenderness
• Skin rash
• Swelling of lips
• Abdominal pain
• Back pain
• Decreased sex drive
• Decreased amount of semen that is ejaculated during orgasm (this should not affect sexual performance, however)
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness and headaches
• Impotence (inability to achieve or maintain an erection)

Need To Know: Finasteride tablets may be crushed to make them easier to swallow. However, women who are or who may become pregnant should not take finasteride or handle crushed tablets, because the medication may cause birth defects in an unborn child.

Can Hair Loss Be Prevented?

There are many reasons for the loss of hair. Prompt treatment of health conditions that can lead to hair loss, such as thyroid disorders, can help prevent the hair loss from occurring.

The most common cause of hair loss is balding in men. Until recently, male pattern baldness could not be prevented. Today, the two medications used to regrow hair can also be used to prevent hair loss:

• Minoxidil (Rogaine), which is applied to the scalp, may slow the loss of hair in 90% of men. Treatment is expensive, however - the cost is about $600 a year for the recommended use of twice daily. Any hair loss that is slowed by the medication will resume when its use is discontinued.
• Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar), is a hair-promoting drug taken by mouth that is approved for use in men only. In clinical studies, it stopped hair loss in 83% of men. However, the medication can have significant side effects.

How-To Information: Some everyday ways to help prevent hair loss include: Eating a balanced diet and taking vitamin and mineral supplements to avoid losing hair due to a vitamin or iron deficiency. Avoiding hair treatments that can damage hair; this includes bleaching, hot rollers, frequent perming, hot curling irons, and repeated brushing and combing under hot hair dryers. Alternate hairstyles that put tension on hair, such as ponytails and braids, with looser hairstyles to avoid a constant pull that causes some hair loss. When the hair is wet, avoid brisk rubbing with a towel; blot the hair dry instead. Avoid vigorous combing and brushing the hair when it is wet, because its structure is more fragile then. The old recommendation to brush hair 100 strokes a day should be avoided, as this damages hair. Use wide-toothed combs and brushes with smooth tips.

What Is Hair Loss?

What Is Hair Loss?

Most people routinely lose between 70 and 150 hairs from their scalp each day, mainly through washing, brushing, and combing.

Scalp hair starts to thin when more hairs are lost through normal shedding than the scalp is able to renew. About 40% of the density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair becomes noticeable.

Hair loss can be caused by:

• Heredity. Most balding is caused by a genetic predisposition - in other words, it's part of a person's genetic makeup. This is called male pattern baldness, or hereditary balding or thinning. It is the most common cause of thinning hair.
• Illness, certain physical conditions, or their treatments. This can include high fever, thyroid disease, childbirth, inadequate protein in the diet, iron deficiency, cancer treatments, the use of certain medications, and other causes.

Hair may be lost in two ways:

• In patchy hair loss, well-defined areas of hair are lost while the remaining scalp retains a good covering of hair.
• In generalized hair loss, there is a uniform thinning over the entire scalp with no areas of normal hair growth.

The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. There are different classifications of alopecia:

• Alopecia areata is a disease in which well-defined bald patches occur. It usually clears completely within 6 to 12 months without treatment.
• Alopecia totalis is an uncommon condition in which all hair on the scalp is lost. The cause is unknown, and the baldness is usually permanent.
• Alopecia universalis is a total loss of hair on all parts of the body.
• Androgenetic alopecia is balding caused by heredity. It can affect both men and women, although women with this inherited tendency do not become totally bald. The condition can start in a person's teens, twenties, or thirties.

Nice To Know: The story of Samson and Delilah illustrates how, in the popular imagination, strength and virility have long been associated with an exuberant growth of hair - Samson's source of strength was his hair, which Delilah had shaved in betrayal of him. Indeed, many societies have shaved the scalp as a form of punishment. Today, however, more men are feeling comfortable with baldness. More celebrities and athletes are sporting bald heads, helping to dispel the myth that youth or masculinity are linked to a full head of hair.

The Structure Of Hair

Every hair grows within a hair follicle, which is a tiny tube of cells close to the surface of the skin. Each hair has a root and a shaft within this follicle.

If you pluck a hair and hold it up to the light, the root will appear as a bulbous white swelling at the deep end. The root lies between 2 and 4 millimeters (about a tenth of an inch) under the skin surface. Its purpose is to produce the actual hair, which is known technically as the hair shaft.

The hair shaft contains no living tissue. It consists of protein material twisted into a very fine rope-like arrangement. It is this part of the structure that we think of in everyday terms as "hair."

Each hair has:

• A sebaceous gland, which provides fats and greases to the hair
• An erector muscle, which is responsible for lifting the hair off the surface of the skin at times of stress or to conserve warmth

The hair root does not grow continuously, but rather in a cycle of stops and starts.

• There is an initial period of active growth that lasts about three years.
• As the period of growth ends, the deepest part of the hair follicle wastes away.
• The hair root then enters a resting period of about 90 days, during which no further hair is produced by the resting root.
• At the end of this phase, the hair falls out and a new hair is produced.

Human hairs are randomly distributed all over the scalp in terms of their growth pattern, so that at any one time, some hairs will be actively growing while others are resting. Only those hairs ending their resting phase are lost each day.

There is tremendous variation in the number of hairs that people shed each day, depending on the number of scalp hairs and the length of the growth cycle. As people age, their rate of new hair growth slows down, resulting in a gradual thinning.

Need To Know: Q: What should I do if I think I'm losing more hair than normal? A: If you notice you are shedding hair excessively after combing or brushing, or if your hair is becoming thinner, you should consult with your primary care provider or a dermatologist (a physician who specializes in treating skin and hair problems). A doctor can determine if disease is present and whether or not the hair loss will respond to medical treatment.

Facts About Hair And Hair Loss The average human scalp has about 100,000 hairs. Nearly two out of every three men develop some form of balding, while a higher percentage of men and women have some form of hair loss during their lives. About 90% of a person's scalp hair is in a continual growth phase that lasts two to six years. The other 10% of scalp hair is in a resting phase that lasts between two and three months. Between 70 and 150 hairs are regularly lost from the scalp each day. People with blond hair typically have more hair (average 140,000 hairs) than the average brunette (105,000 hairs) or redhead (90,000). About 40% of the density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair becomes noticeable. Shaving hair does not stimulate hair growth. Hair plucking does not stop hair growth. Hair grows faster in warm weather than in cold. Hair grows at an average rate of 1 centimenter (around half an inch) per month.

What Causes Hair Loss?

The causes of hair loss vary, depending on the type:

• Generalized hair loss
• Patchy hair loss
• Balding in men

Generalized Hair Loss

Abnormal hair loss may occur:

• Following certain illnesses and infections
• After prolonged vitamin deficiencies, or a deficiency of protein or iron
• Because of a disorder of the thyroid gland, in which there is too little thyroid hormone circulating throughout the body, causing inadequate stimulation of activity in body cells
• As a side effect of medication or medical treatment (for example, chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer)
• Following exposure to some toxic substances such as thallium (thallium sulfate is widely used as a rat poison)

In these cases, the hair loss is not immediately obvious. Although growth stops at once in the hair follicles, the dead hairs are not shed from the scalp until about three months later, when they fall out from their roots.

Major illness, injury, high fever, major surgery, severe bleeding, and possibly even severe emotional stress may cause sufficient physical upset to shock the actively growing hair roots into the resting phase, possibly to conserve energy that will be needed by the body for physical repair.

The roots remain securely anchored for three months, so there is no immediate apparent effect on hair growth following the illness or injury. But three months later, the hair sheds, and this may continue for some weeks.

Since this process does not damage the hair roots, they start to regrow - but it might be several weeks or months before new hair becomes apparent. Scalp hair grows at a rate of about 1 centimeter (around half an inch) per month.

Need To Know: Cancer Treatments and Hair Loss Anticancer treatments are designed to destroy rapidly growing cells, whether by chemotherapy drugs or with radiation. The hair root consists of extremely active cells, which during the active growth phase are growing and multiplying briskly to produce new hair cells. Hair cells are very susceptible to anticancer treatments, targeted as these are against the most actively growing cells in the body. Fortunately, there is rarely any permanent damage. Hair growth usually returns to normal after therapy is completed.

Patchy Hair Loss

Patchy hair loss can be caused by:

• Ringworm. Small patches of hair loss associated with dandruff-like scaling of the scalp and stubby, broken hair shafts within the bald area is typical of scalp ringworm. It occurs in children and is highly contagious, but it is not a serious threat to health. Once the diagnosis is made, the condition is easily treated with anti-ringworm treatment.
• Alopecia areata. This condition involves patchy hair loss with normal underlying skin; the cause is unknown. As the hair in one patch starts to grow again, another bald patch may develop elsewhere. No cure for this condition is known, but it usually clears up by itself in six months to a year.

Need To Know: In alopecia areata, it is rare for all scalp hair to be permanently lost. But this is more likely: If the alopecia begins early in life, If it persists over a long period, or If it covers the scalp extensively.

Balding In Men

Balding is a normal process that develops to some degree in all men. It is influenced by male sex hormones, called androgens. Hormones are chemical messengers produced by the body that stimulates activity by organs or tissues elsewhere in the body.

There also is a strong inherited factor in balding. The trait can be inherited from either the mother's or the father's side of the family. It can affect both men and women, although women with this inherited tendency do not become completely bald.

The process of balding is due to progressive miniaturization of individual hair follicles, which become smaller and have a shorter growth cycle. The hairs consequently become smaller and narrower. The number of hair follicles remains the same, however. There is the same number of hair follicles in the scalp of a bald man as in the scalp of a man with a full head of hair.

The very first signs of the effects of androgens on scalp hair growth occur soon after puberty, which is the stage in the human life when the reproductive organs reach maturity. In boys, puberty occurs around age 13. After puberty, the front hairline above the temples may recede. In some men, this may be as far as the balding process will develop.

There is tremendous variation in the extent to which individuals may lose hair.

• Some men experience a recession of the front hairline above the temples while retaining hair in the middle, which creates an "M" shape in the hairline above the temples and forehead.
• Some lose hair on the center of the scalp, which produces a "bald spot" surrounded by hair.
• Others have the recession at the front of their scalp join up with this area to create a larger balding area.
• Some develop uniform thinning of the hair over the top of the scalp, with no discernible pattern; this usually progresses to complete baldness.

Nice To Know: In men who will become completely bald, the majority will lose their hair at a young age and will complete the balding process by their mid-thirties.

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal: Drogba sparks comeback

Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal

A stunning double from Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faltering title hopes alive and secured a 2-1 win after Arsenal had briefly threatened to put an end to their interest in the Barclays Premier League title race.

The Ivory Coast striker scored two goals in eight minutes after Bacary Sagna had put the Gunners in front.

• 'Disappointed' Wenger vows to fight on

Drogba's goals stretched Chelsea's unbeaten home league record to 78 games - but more importantly meant they are within touching distance of Manchester United at the top of the table.

Chelsea leapfrogged Arsenal into second place and now sit five points behind Sir Alex Ferguson's side with seven games remaining.

Manchester United have yet to visit Stamford Bridge - and that fixture may have the ultimate say in the destination of the title this season.

Arsenal had been the last team to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in February 2004 - and it looked like a repeat was on the cards when Sagna headed home a corner from Cesc Fabregas in the 59th minute.

Chelsea coach Avram Grant has often been criticised for not being able to beat the top teams but his team's stunning fightback may well have changed that perception once and for all.

The contest was just five minutes old when Michael Ballack tested Manuel Almunia with a free-kick that the Arsenal goalkeeper did well to collect at the foot of his left-hand upright.

But Arsenal, now five games without a win, had their chances too with Robin van Persie twice failing to beat Carlo Cudicini with shots from the edge of the penalty area.

Drogba was struggling to remain in the game in the opening half as he asked for treatment to a thigh problem - and he should have put home side ahead in the 24th minute.

A superb through-ball from captain John Terry put Drogba in the clear - but the ball bounced off his knee into the grateful arms of the waiting Almunia.

Cudicini had to be alert at the opposite end when Ashley Cole's backpass almost found its way into the net.

Chelsea continued to chase a goal and Salomon Kalou should have provided it when a downward header found him unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box five minutes before the interval.

Sadly for Chelsea, Kalou completely missed his kick and the chance went begging.

Ballack then tested Almunia with a stinging volley that the Arsenal goalkeeper did well to save at the foot of his post.

The game sprung into life in the 59th minute when Sagna scored his first goal for Arsenal and put Arsene Wenger's side in control.

Fabregas sent his corner arcing towards the near post and Sagna lost his marker Kalou to glance a header into the net.

The goal looked to have put an end to Chelsea's interest in the title race but then Drogba found the kind of form which has made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe.

The Chelsea faithful were already beginning to fear the worst and chanted the name of Grant's predecessor Jose Mourinho - along with `You don't know what you are doing' before Drogba lifted their ailing spirits.

The striker equalised in the 73rd minute when the ball cannoned back off Frank Lampard into his path on the edge of the penalty area.

Drogba reacted swiftly to drill a low shot beyond Almunia and into the bottom corner to put Chelsea back in the game.

But Drogba was not finished and eight minutes later the powerful striker had secured a remarkable comeback for the Blues with a goal which keeps them very much in the race for the title.

Joe Cole's free-kick fell to the striker eight yards out and he managed to bring the ball under control before despatching a right-foot shot that Almunia could only parry on its way into the net.

Drogba would have completed a sensational hat-trick moments later, only for Almunia to deny him with a superb save at his near post.

The result will give both managers much to think about as the title heads for a thrilling and unpredictable finish.

'Disappointed' Wenger vows to fight on

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba admitted his side's 2-1 victory over Arsenal has given them the 'belief' that they can catch leaders Manchester United.

Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna had put his side ahead in the 59th minute when he headed a Cesc Fabregas corner past goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini from close range. But Chelsea hit back through Drogba in the 73rd minute when he he lashed home a loose ball at the edge of the Arsenal box following a knockdown by Frank Lampard. Drogba then capitalised on some poor defending from Kolo Toure to hook in a deep cross into the box after a knock-on from Nicolas Anelka - and win it with just eight minutes left. And the Ivory Coast international, who was named man of the match, is confident his side can move forward after this result. 'I think they give the belief we can still be in the race against Manchester United,' Drogba said. 'Arsenal are not dead even though they lost this game. Although it is going to be difficult for them and their confidence will be hit. 'We played well today, it is always difficult against Arsenal. But we are strong and I think we deserved the win today.'Drogba also praised the impact of substitutes Nicolas Anelka, John Mikel Obi and Juliano Belletti, who came from the bench in the latter stages to give the Blues a final push. 'I think the substitutes did their job and that is what it is all about - the team. They wanted us to show that even though they are on the bench at the start they can be important. 'I hope we can win the title this year and the way we celebrated showed we believe that we can do it.' Drogba also paid tribute to Arsenal defender William Gallas, who got a mixed reception by the fans of his former club. He added: 'William gave some good years to Chelsea and the minimum the fans should show him is some respect.' Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted his side will not give up on the title even though they are six points behind Manchester United in the table. 'We will fight until the end and we are not worried about the future but are disappointed now obviously,' Wenger said. 'Today we were unlucky and I thought we played well. We were 1-0 up and were unlucky with their first goal which I thought was really offside. 'Anelka came on for them, and they decided to play long ball, which put us under a lot of pressure and that was the only way they could trouble us. In the end we lost the game. 'It is disappointing because we gave everything but now the priority has to be the next game.' Chelsea manager Avram Grant said Drogba has returned to something like his best form. He said: 'Didier was not so good when he came back from the African Nations Cup but last week against Spurs he was better, and today he was very good. 'We played well, especially in the second half against a very good team. 'It is not so easy to win the title but we in with a chance. We are still chasing but we are now closer to the top.'

United beat Reds to go clear

Man United 3-0 Liverpool: Mascherano sent off

Champions Manchester United crushed 10-man Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford in a controversial north-west derby.

United took a firmer grip on top spot in the Premier League, but it was the performance of referee Steve Bennett - and Javier Mascherano's lack of control - which will be the talking point.

• Fergie hails maturing side

Mascherano, already booked, was dismissed just before the break for blatant dissent which earned him a second yellow card - and then the red.

The Argentinian had to be hauled from the pitch, such was his anger, and his boss Rafael Benitez was equally unhappy with the incident.

Wes Brown had scored his first goal of the season - and only the third of his career - to give United control at the break, before Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani netted inside the last 11 minutes as Liverpool tired.

But in a week which has seen football infuriated by Chelsea's Ashley Cole's escape from dissent aimed at referee Mike Riley, it was hardly surprising Bennett was having none of the same.

Cole should have been sent off at Tottenham in midweek - and Mascherano felt the backlash.

The midfielder had been snipping away at Bennett throughout the first period, ably assisted by Fernando Torres.

If television viewers could see the dismissal coming, Mascherano could not.

Torres had been booked for arguing seconds earlier, so when the midfielder continued the debate there was going to be only one winner. Mascherano was incensed, and had to be virtually pulled off the pitch.

United brought back goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and defender Rio Ferdinand after groin and back injuries respectively, while Paul Scholes and skipper Ryan Giggs also returned.

Liverpool were unchanged after seven straight victories - a run which was to end in the 150th league meeting between these clubs.

The opening tackles were sharp and Mascherano was booked for cutting down Scholes, before Wayne Rooney twice went close.

First the striker got behind Jamie Carragher, whose tackle could easily have produced a penalty had the former Everton man gone down. But the England striker kept his feet and forced Jose Reina into a save with his legs.

Then Scholes' lofted pass fell behind the Liverpool defence, and Reina scooped the ball away from Rooney.

Bennett decided not to book Anderson for a late challenge on Steven Gerrard, before Reina rushed out of his box quickly to clear the danger with Rooney homing in.

Ronaldo's shot hit the foot of a post before Reina half-stopped a 33rd-minute Giggs effort and needed to claw it back from under the bar.

The deadlock was broken a minute later when Rooney's curling cross into the box was met by the unlikely figure of Brown - who reached it before Reina and saw his header drop into the net.

Then Liverpool's frustrations with perceived injustices saw them implode.

First Torres was booked for dissent, and when Mascherano joined in Bennett produced another yellow - and then red.

Gerrard was pushed back into Mascherano's holding role for the second half, which started with Reina making a point-blank save to stop a Ronaldo effort.

Reina produced another improbable save from Rooney, six yards out, before Fabio Arbeloa became the next Liverpool player to be booked for tugging back Anderson.

Ferdinand was cautioned for a foul on Torres from behind, before Benitez sent on Yossi Benayoun for the ineffective Ryan Babel just before the half's midway mark.

Torres, clinical in recent matches, then missed a decent chance when Gerrard's free-kick found him unmarked at the far post.

United sent on Carlos Tevez and Nani for Giggs and Anderson after 73 minutes, and it took another wonder save from Reina to stop Tevez making it 2-0.

Liverpool were incensed by a Michael Carrick challenge on Torres - right in front of Benitez - which Bennett chose not to punish.

Reina denied Ronaldo with a block which hit the bar and went out for a corner - which proved decisive.

Nani's 79th-minute corner was headed home by Ronaldo - and two minutes later Nani created space for himself on the edge of the box to blast in the third.

A disgruntled Torres was immediately replaced by John Arne Riise - and there was no way back for Liverpool.

Fergie hails maturing side Sir Alex Ferguson felt his young Manchester United side found a new level of maturity as they beat Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford to stay in pole position in the Premier League.

Wes Brown was the unlikely scorer of United's first when he leapt to head in Wayne Rooney's cross and the visitors ended the first half with 10 men after Javier Mascherano was sent off for a second bookable offence after arguing with referee Steve Bennett.

Liverpool failed to make a period of second-half pressure tell, and Cristiano Ronaldo headed home the second from a corner in the 79th minute before Nani added a third two minutes later after good interplay with Rooney

Ferguson was hugely pleased with the display and told Sky Sports: 'It was a really good performance - a performance of maturity.

'We've seen a team mature over the last six months and today they hit their high peak.'

Asked to comment on the dismissal of Mascherano, the Scot added: 'He has been booked and kept badgering the referee. We've talked about dissent and I think that was dissent.'

Ferguson refused to accept the title was in the bag, and said: 'It's going to go right to the end, Chelsea and Arsenal going really well. We've beaten a strong Liverpool side playing good football.'

United striker Rooney said: 'It's always nice to beat Liverpool and it's opened up a bit of a gap now at the top of the league.

'I'm delighted with the win. I know the goals will come [for him personally] - I'm not too concerned with that.'

Asked whether he thought the red card was a turning point, Rooney said: 'We were always on top. The Liverpool players were tired at the end, but overall I don't think it would have made any difference.

'We know it's in our hands now - we have to try and win as many games as possible and stay top of the league. We've got a good mix in the dressing room and we know what we have to do between now and the end of the season.'

Rafael Benitez was adamant Mascherano had only asked Bennett why team-mate Fernando Torres had been booked.

The said: 'Clearly he didn't say anything. Ryan Babel was close to him, he didn't say anything, he was asking what happened.

'In these big games, to lose a player in this situation...it's strange because Javier Mascherano is a good professional and was really surprised with the sending-off.

'In a big game like this between the top four, a sending-off for asking is just a surprise.'

Funny Japanese Adult TV Program

This is hilarious indeed. Poor guys cant do anything more in TV.

Angry Video Game Nerd: Silver Surfer

Very funny game review by the angry video game nerd.
Nice one.

Fake Brian Crecente Reviews Smash Bros.

No, Crecente doesn't really sound like that or review games for garlic. Still, this is a hoot. Just watch.

Crecente Reviews

What a stupid video, enough said.

What is gold

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the metal. For the color, see Gold (color). For other uses, see Gold (disambiguation).
Gold (pronounced /ˈɡoʊld/) is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum, meaning shining dawn) and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal which, for many centuries, has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, underground "veins" and in alluvial deposits. It is one of the coinage metals. Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile of the known metals. Pure gold has a bright yellow color traditionally considered attractive.

Gold formed the basis for the gold standard used before the fiat currency monetary system was employed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is specifically against IMF regulations to base any currency against gold for all IMF member states. The ISO currency code of gold bullion is XAU.

Modern industrial uses include dentistry and electronics, where gold has traditionally found use because of its good resistance to oxidative corrosion.

Chemically, gold is a trivalent and univalent transition metal. Gold does not react with most chemicals, but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine, aqua regia and cyanide. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but does not react with it. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which will dissolve silver and base metals, and this is the basis of the gold refining technique known as "inquartation and parting". Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, and this is the origin of the colloquial term "acid test," referring to a gold standard test for genuine value.

Characteristics
Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal; a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of one square meter, or an ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become translucent. The transmitted light appears greenish blue, because gold strongly reflects yellow and red.

Gold readily forms alloys with many other metals. These alloys can be produced to increase the hardness or to create exotic colors (see below). Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is not affected by air and most reagents. Heat, moisture, oxygen, and most corrosive agents have very little chemical effect on gold, making it well-suited for use in coins and jewelry; conversely, halogens will chemically alter gold, and aqua regia dissolves it via formation of the chloraurate ion.

Common oxidation states of gold include +1 (gold(I) or aurous compounds) and +3 (gold(III) or auric compounds). Gold ions in solution are readily reduced and precipitated out as gold metal by adding any other metal as the reducing agent. The added metal is oxidized and dissolves allowing the gold to be displaced from solution and be recovered as a solid precipitate.

Recent research undertaken by Sir Frank Reith of the Australian National University shows that microbes play an important role in forming gold deposits, transporting and precipitating gold to form grains and nuggets that collect in alluvial deposits.[1]

High quality pure metallic gold is tasteless, in keeping with its resistance to corrosion (it is metal ions which confer taste to metals).

In addition, gold is very dense, a cubic meter weighing 19300 kg. By comparison, the density of lead is 11340 kg/m³, and the densest element, iridium, is 22650 kg/m³.


Colour of gold
The usual gray colour of metals depends on their "electron sea" that is capable of absorbing and re-emitting photons over a wide range of frequences. Gold behaves differently, depending on subtle relativistic effects that affect the orbitals around gold atoms.[2]


Applications

As the metal

Medium of monetary exchange
In various countries, gold is used as a standard for monetary exchange, in coinage and in jewelry. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use and is typically hardened by alloying with copper or other base metals. The gold content of gold alloys is measured in carats (k), pure gold being designated as 24k.

Gold coins intended for circulation from 1526 into the 1930s were typically a standard 22k alloy called crown gold, for hardness. Modern collector/investment bullion coins (which do not require good mechanical wear properties) are typically 24k, although the American Gold Eagle and British gold sovereign continue to be made at 22k, on historical tradition. The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin contains the highest purity gold of any popular bullion coin, at 99.999% (.99999 fine). Several other 99.99% pure gold coins are currently available, including Australia's Gold Kangaroos (first appearing in 1986 as the Australian Gold Nugget, with the kangaroo theme appearing in 1989), the several coins of the Australian Lunar Calendar series, and the Austrian Philharmonic. In 2006, the U.S. Mint began production of the American Buffalo gold bullion coin also at 99.99% purity.

Today, gold has fallen out of use in coins made for general circulation.


Jewelry
Because of the softness of pure (24k) gold, it is usually alloyed with base metals for use in jewelry, altering its hardness and ductility, melting point, color and other properties. Alloys with lower "k", typically 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k, contain higher percentages of copper, silver or other base metals in the alloy. Copper is the most commonly used base metal, yielding a redder metal. Eighteen carat gold containing 25% copper is found in antique and Russian jewelry and has a distinct, though not dominant, copper cast, creating rose gold. Fourteen carat gold-copper alloy is nearly identical in color to certain bronze alloys, and both may be used to produce police and other badges. Blue gold can be made by alloying with iron and purple gold can be made by alloying with aluminium, although rarely done except in specialized jewelry. Blue gold is more brittle and therefore more difficult to work with when making jewelry. Fourteen and eighteen carat gold alloys with silver alone appear greenish-yellow and are referred to as green gold. White gold alloys can be made with palladium or nickel. White 18 carat gold containing 17.3% nickel, 5.5% zinc and 2.2% copper is silver in appearance. Nickel is toxic, however, and its release from nickel white gold is controlled by legislation in Europe. Alternative white gold alloys are available based on palladium, silver and other white metals (World Gold Council), but the palladium alloys are more expensive than those using nickel. High-carat white gold alloys are far more resistant to corrosion than are either pure silver or sterling silver. The Japanese craft of Mokume-gane exploits the colour contrasts between laminated colored gold alloys to produce decorative wood-grain effects.


The 220 kg Gold brick displayed in Chinkuashi Gold Museum, Taiwan.
Other
In medieval times, gold was often seen as beneficial for the health, in the belief that something that rare and beautiful could not be anything but healthy. Even some modern esotericists and forms of alternative medicine assign metallic gold a healing power. Some gold salts do have anti-inflammatory properties and are used as pharmaceuticals in the treatment of arthritis and other similar conditions. However, only salts and radioisotopes of gold are of pharmacological value, as elemental (metallic) gold is inert to all chemicals it encounters inside the body.
Gold leaf, flake or dust is used on and in some gourmet foodstuffs, notably sweets and drinks as decorative ingredient.[3] Gold flake was used by the nobility in Medieval Europe as a decoration in foodstuffs and drinks, in the form of leafs, flakes or dust, either to demonstrate the host's wealth or in the belief that something that valuable and rare must be beneficial for one's health.
Gold solder is used for joining the components of gold jewelry by high-temperature hard soldering or brazing. If the work is to be of hallmarking quality, gold solder must match the carat weight of the work, and alloy formulae are manufactured in most industry-standard carat weights to color match yellow and white gold. Gold solder is usually made in at least three melting-point ranges referred to as Easy, Medium and Hard. By using the hard, high-melting point solder first, followed by solders with progressively lower melting points, goldsmiths can assemble complex items with several separate soldered joints.
Gold can be used in food and has the E Number 175. Goldwasser (German: "Goldwater") is a traditional herbal liqueur produced in Gdańsk, Poland and Schwabach, Germany and contains flakes of gold leaf. There are also some expensive (~$1000) cocktails which contain flakes of gold leaf[citation needed]. However, since metallic gold is inert to all body chemistry, it adds no taste nor has it any other nutritional effect and leaves the body unaltered.
Dentistry. Gold alloys are used in restorative dentistry, especially in tooth restorations, such as crowns and permanent bridges. The gold alloys' slight malleability facilitates the creation of a superior molar mating surface with other teeth and produces results that are generally more satisfactory than those produced by the creation of porcelain crowns. The use of gold crowns in more prominent teeth such as incisors is favored in some cultures and discouraged in others.
Gold can be made into thread and used in embroidery.
Gold is ductile and malleable, meaning it can be drawn into very thin wire and can be beaten into very thin sheets known as gold leaf.
Gold produces a deep, intense red color when used as a coloring agent in cranberry glass.
In photography, Gold toners are used to shift the color of silver bromide black and white prints towards brown or blue tones, or to increase their stability. Used on sepia-toned prints, gold toners produce red tones. Kodak publish formulae for several types of gold toners, which use gold as the chloride (Kodak, 2006).
Electronics. The concentration of free electrons in gold metal is 5.90×1022 cm-3. Gold is highly conductive to electricity, and has been used for electrical wiring in some high energy applications (silver is even more conductive per volume, but gold has the advantage of corrosion resistance). For example, gold electrical wires were used during some of the Manhattan Project's atomic experiments, but large high current silver wires were used in the calutron isotope separator magnets in the project.
Though gold is attacked by free chlorine, its good conductivity and general resistance to oxidation and corrosion in other environments (including resistance to non-chlorinated acids) has led to its widespread industrial use in the electronic era as a thin layer coating electrical connectors of all kinds, thereby ensuring good connection. For example, gold is used in the connectors of the more expensive electronics cables, such as audio, video and USB cables. The benefit of using gold over other connector metals such as tin in these applications, is highly debated. Gold connectors are often criticized by audio-visual experts as unnecessary for most consumers and seen as simply a marketing ploy. However, the use of gold in other applications in electronic sliding contacts in highly humid or corrosive atmospheres, and in use for contacts with a very high failure cost (certain computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines) remains very common, and is unlikely to be replaced in the near future by any other metal.
Besides sliding electrical contacts, gold is also used in electrical contacts because of its resistance to corrosion, electrical conductivity, ductility and lack of toxicity.[4] Switch contacts are generally subjected to more intense corrosion stress than are sliding contacts.
Colloidal gold (Colloidal sols of gold nanoparticles) in water are intensely red-colored, and can be made with tightly-controlled particle sizes up to a few tens of nm across by reduction of gold chloride with citrate or ascorbate ions. Colloidal gold is used in research applications in medicine, biology and materials science. The technique of immunogold labeling exploits the ability of the gold particles to adsorb protein molecules onto their surfaces. Colloidal gold particles coated with specific antibodies can be used as probes for the presence and position of antigens on the surfaces of cells (Faulk and Taylor 1979). In ultrathin sections of tissues viewed by electron microscopy, the immunogold labels appear as extremely dense round spots at the position of the antigen (Roth et al. 1980). Colloidal gold is also the form of gold used as gold paint on ceramics prior to firing.
Gold, or alloys of gold and palladium, are applied as conductive coating to biological specimens and other non-conducting materials such as plastics and glass to be viewed in a scanning electron microscope. The coating, which is usually applied by sputtering with an argon plasma, has a triple role in this application. Gold's very high electrical conductivity drains electrical charge to earth, and its very high density provides stopping power for electrons in the SEM's electron beam, helping to limit the depth to which the electron beam penetrates the specimen. This improves definition of the position and topography of the specimen surface and increases the spatial resolution of the image. Gold also produces a high output of secondary electrons when irradiated by an electron beam, and these low-energy electrons are the most commonly-used signal source used in the scanning electron microscope.
Many competitions, and honors, such as the Olympics and the Nobel Prize, award a gold medal to the winner.
As gold is a good reflector of electromagnetic radiation such as infrared and visible light as well as radio waves, it is used for the protective coatings on many artificial satellites, in infrared protective faceplates in thermal protection suits and astronauts' helmets and in electronic warfare planes like the EA-6B Prowler.
Gold is used as the reflective layer on some high-end CDs.
The isotope gold-198, (half-life: 2.7 days) is used in some cancer treatments and for treating other diseases.[5]
Automobiles may use gold for heat insulation. McLaren F1 uses gold foil in the engine compartment.[6]

As gold chemical compounds
Gold is attacked by and dissolves in alkaline solutions of potassium or sodium cyanide, and gold cyanide is the electrolyte used in commercial electroplating of gold onto base metals and electroforming. Gold chloride (chloroauric acid) solutions are used to make colloidal gold by reduction with citrate or ascorbate ions. Gold chloride and gold oxide are used to make highly-valued cranberry or red-colored glass, which, like colloidal gold sols, contains evenly-sized spherical gold nanoparticles.


History

Funerary mask of TutankhamunGold has been known and highly-valued since prehistoric times. It may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold, which king Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was "more plentiful than dirt" in Egypt.[7] Egypt and Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. Large mines also occurred across the Red Sea in what is now Saudi Arabia. Gold is also mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, starting with Genesis 2:11 (at Havilah) and is included with the gifts of the magi in the first chapters of Matthew New Testament. The Book of Revelation 21:21 describes the city of New Jerusalem as having streets "made of pure gold, clear as crystal". The south-east corner of the Black Sea was famed for its gold. Exploitation is said to date from the time of Midas, and this gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world's earliest coinage in Lydia between 643 and 630 BC.

The Romans developed new methods for extracting gold on a large scale using hydraulic mining methods, especially in Spain from 25 BC onwards and in Roumania from 150 AD onwards. One of their largest mines was at Las Medulas in Galicia, where seven long aqueducts enabled them to sluice most of a large alluvial deposit. The mines at Verespatak in Transylvania were also very large, and till very recently, still mined by opencast methods. They also exploited smaller deposits in Wales, such as placer and hard-rock deposits at Dolaucothi. The various methods they used are well described by Pliny the Elder in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia written towards the end of the first century AD.

The Mali Empire in Africa was famed throughout the old world for its large amounts of gold. Mansa Musa, ruler of the empire (1312–1337) became famous throughout the old world for his great hajj to Mecca in 1324. When he passed through Cairo in July of 1324, he was reportedly accompanied by a camel train that included thousands of people and nearly a hundred camels. He gave away so much gold that it took over a decade for the economy across North Africa to recover, due to the rapid inflation that it initiated.[8] A contemporary Arab historian remarked;

“ Gold was at a high price in Egypt until they came in that year. The mithqal did not go below 25 dirhams and was generally above, but from that time its value fell and it cheapened in price and has remained cheap till now. The mithqal does not exceed 22 dirhams or less. This has been the state of affairs for about twelve years until this day by reason of the large amount of gold which they brought into Egypt and spent there [...] ”
—Chihab Al-Umari[9]


The European exploration of the Americas was fueled in no small part by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples, especially in Central America, Peru, and Colombia.

Although the price of some platinum group metals can be much higher, gold has long been considered the most desirable of precious metals, and its value has been used as the standard for many currencies (known as the gold standard) in history. Gold has been used as a symbol for purity, value, royalty, and particularly roles that combine these properties. Gold as a sign of wealth and prestige was made fun of by Thomas More in his treatise Utopia. On that imaginary island, gold is so abundant that it is used to make chains for slaves, tableware and lavatory-seats. When ambassadors from other countries arrive, dressed in ostentatious gold jewels and badges, the Utopians mistake them for menial servants, paying homage instead to the most modestly-dressed of their party.

There is an age-old tradition of biting gold in order to test its authenticity. Although this is certainly not a professional way of examining gold, the bite test should score the gold because gold is considered a soft metal according to the Mohs' scale of mineral hardness. The purer the gold the easier it should be to mark it. Painted lead can cheat this test because lead is softer than gold (and may invite a small risk of lead poisoning if sufficient lead is absorbed by the biting).


This 156 ounce (4,42 kg) nugget was found by an individual prospector in the Southern California Desert using a metal detector.Gold in antiquity was relatively easy to obtain geologically; however, 75% of all gold ever produced has been extracted since 1910.[10] It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 20 m (66 ft) on a side (equivalent to 8000 m³).[10]

One main goal of the alchemists was to produce gold from other substances, such as lead — presumably by the interaction with a mythical substance called the philosopher's stone. Although they never succeeded in this attempt, the alchemists promoted an interest in what can be done with substances, and this laid a foundation for today's chemistry. Their symbol for gold was the circle with a point at its center (☉), which was also the astrological symbol, the Egyptian hieroglyph and the ancient Chinese character for the Sun. For modern attempts to produce artificial gold, see gold synthesis.

During the 19th century, gold rushes occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered. The first major gold strike in the United States occurred in a small north Georgia town called Dahlonega.[11] Further gold rushes occurred in California, Colorado, Otago, Australia, Witwatersrand, Black Hills, and Klondike.

Because of its historically high value, much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another.


Occurrence
In nature, gold most often occurs in its native state (that is, as a metal), though usually alloyed with silver. Native gold contains usually eight to ten percent silver, but often much more — alloys with a silver content over 20% are called electrum. As the amount of silver increases, the color becomes whiter and the specific gravity becomes lower.

Ores bearing native gold consist of grains or microscopic particles of metallic gold embedded in rock, often in association with veins of quartz or sulfide minerals like pyrite. These are called "lode" deposits. Native gold is also found in the form of free flakes, grains or larger nuggets that have been eroded from rocks and end up in alluvial deposits (called placer deposits). Such free gold is always richer at the surface of gold-bearing veins owing to the oxidation of accompanying minerals followed by weathering, and washing of the dust into streams and rivers, where it collects and can be welded by water action to form nuggets.

Gold sometimes occurs in minerals in chemical composition with other elements, especially in association with tellurium. Examples are calaverite, sylvanite, nagyagite, petzite and krennerite. Gold also occurs rarely as a mercury-gold amalgam, and in very low concentrations in seawater.


Production

Gold Nuggets found in ArizonaMain articles: Gold prospecting, Gold mining, and Gold extraction

The entrance to an underground gold mine in Victoria, Australia
Gold ore
World gold production trend
Gold output in 2005Economic gold extraction can be achieved from ore grades as little as 0.5 g/1000 kg (0.5 parts per million, ppm) on average in large easily mined deposits. Typical ore grades in open-pit mines are 1–5 g/1000 kg (1–5 ppm), ore grades in underground or hard rock mines are usually at least 3 g/1000 kg (3 ppm) on average. Since ore grades of 30 g/1000 kg (30 ppm) are usually needed before gold is visible to the naked eye, in most gold mines the gold is invisible.

Since the 1880s, South Africa has been the source for a large proportion of the world’s gold supply, with about 50% of all gold ever produced having come from South Africa. Production in 1970 accounted for 79% of the world supply, producing about 1,000 tonnes. However by 2007 production was just 272 tonnes. This sharp decline was due to the increasing difficulty of extraction, changing economic factors affecting the industry, and tightened safety auditing. In 2007 China (with 276 tonnes) overtook South Africa as the world's largest gold producer, the first time since 1905 that South Africa has not been the largest.[12]

The city of Johannesburg located in South Africa was founded as a result of the Witwatersrand Gold Rush which resulted in the discovery of some of the largest gold deposits the world has ever seen. Gold fields located within the basin in the Free State and Gauteng provinces are extensive in strike and dip requiring some of the world's deepest mines, with the Savuka and TauTona mines being currently the world's deepest gold mine at 3,777 m. The Second Boer War of 1899–1901 between the British Empire and the Afrikaner Boers was at least partly over the rights of miners and possession of the gold wealth in South Africa.

Other major producers are United States, Australia, China, Russia and Peru. Mines in South Dakota and Nevada supply two-thirds of gold used in the United States. In South America, the controversial project Pascua Lama aims at exploitation of rich fields in the high mountains of Atacama Desert, at the border between Chile and Argentina. Today about one-quarter of the world gold output is estimated to originate from artisanal or small scale mining.[13]

After initial production, gold is often subsequently refined industrially by the Wohlwill process or the Miller process. Other methods of assaying and purifying smaller amounts of gold include parting and inquartation as well as cuppelation, or refining methods based on the dissolution of gold in aqua regia.

The world's oceans hold a vast amount of gold, but in very low concentrations (perhaps 1–2 parts per 10 billion). A number of people have claimed to be able to economically recover gold from sea water, but so far they have all been either mistaken or crooks. Reverend Prescott Jernegan ran a gold-from seawater swindle in America in the 1890s. A British fraud ran the same scam in England in the early 1900s.[14]

Fritz Haber (the German inventor of the Haber process) attempted commercial extraction of gold from sea water in an effort to help pay Germany's reparations following the First World War. Unfortunately, his assessment of the concentration of gold in sea water was unduly high, probably due to sample contamination. The effort produced little gold and cost the German government far more than the commercial value of the gold recovered. No commercially viable mechanism for performing gold extraction from sea water has yet been identified. Gold synthesis is not economically viable and is unlikely to become so in the foreseeable future.

The average gold mining and extraction costs are $238 per troy ounce but these can vary widely depending on mining type and ore quality. In 2001, global mine production amounted to 2,604 tonnes, or 67% of total gold demand in that year. At the end of 2001, it was estimated that all the gold ever mined totalled 145,000 tonnes.[15]

At current consumption rates, the supply of gold is believed to last 45 years.[16]


Price
Main articles: Gold as an investment and Gold standard

LBMA USD morning price fixings ($US per troy ounce) since 2001
Gold price per ounce in USD since 1968, in actual US$ and 2006 US$Like other precious metals, gold is measured by troy weight and by grams. When it is alloyed with other metals the term carat or karat is used to indicate the amount of gold present, with 24 karats being pure gold and lower ratings proportionally less. The purity of a gold bar can also be expressed as a decimal figure ranging from 0 to 1, known as the millesimal fineness, such as 0.995 being very pure.

The price of gold is determined on the open market, but a procedure known as the Gold Fixing in London, originating in September 1919, provides a daily benchmark figure to the industry. The afternoon fixing appeared in 1968 to fix a price when US markets are open.

The high price of gold is due to its rare amount. Only three parts out of every billion (0.000000003) in the Earth's crust is gold.

Historically gold was used to back currency; in an economic system known as the gold standard, a certain weight of gold was given the name of a unit of currency. For a long period, the United States government set the value of the US dollar so that one troy ounce was equal to $20.67 ($664.56/kg), but in 1934 the dollar was revalued to $35.00 per troy ounce ($1125.27/kg). By 1961 it was becoming hard to maintain this price, and a pool of US and European banks agreed to manipulate the market to prevent further currency devaluation against increased gold demand.

On 17 March 1968, economic circumstances caused the collapse of the gold pool, and a two-tiered pricing scheme was established whereby gold was still used to settle international accounts at the old $35.00 per troy ounce ($1.13/g) but the price of gold on the private market was allowed to fluctuate; this two-tiered pricing system was abandoned in 1975 when the price of gold was left to find its free-market level. Central banks still hold historical gold reserves as a store of value although the level has generally been declining. The largest gold depository in the world is that of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in New York, which holds about 3% of the gold ever mined, as does the similarly-laden U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.

In 2005 the World Gold Council estimated total global gold supply to be 3,859 tonnes and demand to be 3,754 tonnes, giving a surplus of 105 tonnes.[17]


Price records
Since 1968 the price of gold on the open market has ranged widely, from a high of $850/oz ($27,300/kg) on 21 January 1980, to a low of $252.90/oz ($8,131/kg) on 21 June 1999 (London Gold Fixing).[18] The 1980 high was not overtaken until 3 January 2008 when a new record of $865.35 per troy ounce was set in the a.m. London Gold Fixing.[19] Indexed for inflation, the 1980 high would equate to a price of $2398.21 in 2007 dollars. On January 10, 2008, gold futures for February delivery was $884 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, erasing by $10 the previous record of $875 in 1980, and later it settled at $880.30.[20] On February 26, 2008, gold and platinum dollar prices climbed to historic highs of 948.90 and 2,130.90 dollars per ounce, respectively (London Platinum and Palladium Market).[21] On Thursday, March 13th 2008, gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose over $1,000/ounce for the first time.[22]


Compounds
Although gold is a noble metal, it forms many and diverse compounds. The oxidation state of gold in its compound ranges from −1 to +5 but Au(I) and Au(III) dominate. Gold(I), referred to as the aurous ion, is the most common oxidation state with “soft” ligands such as thioethers, thiolates, and tertiary phosphines. Au(I) compounds are typically linear. A good example is Au(CN)2−, which is the soluble form of gold encountered in mining. Curiously, aurous complexes of water are rare. The binary gold halides, such as AuCl, form zig-zag polymeric chains, again featuring linear coordination at Au. Most drugs based on gold are Au(I) derivatives.[23]

Gold(III) (“auric”) is a common oxidation state and is illustrated by gold(III) chloride, AuCl3. Its derivative is chloroauric acid, HAuCl4, which forms when Au dissolves in aqua regia. Au(III) complexes, like other d8 compounds, are typically square planar.


Less common oxidation states: Au(-I), Au(II), and Au(V)
Compounds containing the Au− anion are called aurides. Caesium auride, CsAu which crystallizes in the caesium chloride motif. Other aurides include those of Rb+, K+, and tetramethylammonium (CH3)4N+.[24] Gold(II) compounds are usually diamagnetic with Au-Au bonds such as [Au(CH2)2P(C6H5)2]2Cl2. A noteworthy, legitimate Au(II) complex contains xenon as a ligand, [AuXe4](Sb2F11)2.[25] Gold pentafluoride is the sole example of Au(V), the highest verified oxidation state.[26]

Some gold compounds exhibit aurophilic bonding, which describes the tendency of gold ions to interact at distances that are too long to be a conventional Au-Au bond but shorter that van der Waals bonding. The interaction is estimated to be comparable in strength to that of a hydrogen bond.


Mixed valence compounds
Well-defined cluster compounds are numerous.[24] In such cases, gold has a fractional oxidation state. A representative example is the octahedral species {Au(P(C6H5)3)}62+. Gold chalcogenides, e.g. "AuS" feature equal amounts of Au(I) and Au(III).


Isotopes
Main article: isotopes of gold
There is one stable isotope of gold, and 18 radioisotopes with 195Au being the most stable with a half-life of 186 days.

Gold has been proposed as a "salting" material for nuclear weapons (cobalt is another, better-known salting material). A jacket of natural gold, irradiated by the intense high-energy neutron flux from an exploding thermonuclear weapon, would transmute into the radioactive isotope Au-198 with a half-life of 2.697 days and produce approximately .411 MeV of gamma radiation, significantly increasing the radioactivity of the weapon's fallout for several days. Such a weapon is not known to have ever been built, tested, or used.


Symbolism

Three Gold Sovereigns with a Krugerrand
Swiss-cast 1 kg gold bar.Gold has been associated with the extremities of utmost evil and great sanctity throughout history. In the Book of Exodus, the Golden Calf is a symbol of idolatry and rebellion against God. In Communist propaganda, the golden pocket watch and its fastening golden chain were the characteristic accessories of the class enemy, the bourgeois and the industrial tycoons. Credit card companies associate their product with wealth by naming and coloring their top-of-the-range cards “gold;” although, in an attempt to out-do each other, platinum (and the even-more-elite black card) has now overtaken gold.

On the other hand in the Book of Genesis, Abraham was said to be rich in gold and silver, and Moses was instructed to cover the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant with pure gold. Eminent orators such as John Chrysostom were said to have a “mouth of gold with a silver tongue.” Gold is associated with notable anniversaries, particularly in a 50-year cycle, such as a golden wedding anniversary, golden jubilee, etc.

Great human achievements are frequently rewarded with gold, in the form of medals and decorations. Winners of races and prizes are usually awarded the gold medal (such as the Olympic Games and the Nobel Prize), while many award statues are depicted in gold (such as the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards the Emmy Awards, the Palme d'Or, and the British Academy Film Awards).

Medieval kings were inaugurated under the signs of sacred oil and a golden crown, the latter symbolizing the eternal shining light of heaven and thus a Christian king's divinely inspired authority. Wedding rings are traditionally made of gold; since it is long-lasting and unaffected by the passage of time, it is considered a suitable material for everyday wear as well as a metaphor for the relationship. In Orthodox Christianity, the wedded couple is adorned with a golden crown during the ceremony, an amalgamation of symbolic rites.

The symbolic value of gold varies greatly around the world, even within geographic regions. For example, gold is quite common in Turkey but considered a most valuable gift in Sicily.


Toxicity
Pure gold is non-toxic and non-irritating when ingested[27] and is sometimes used as a food decoration in the form of gold leaf. It is also a component of the alcoholic drinks Goldschläger, Gold Strike, and Goldwasser. Gold is approved as a food additive in the EU (E175 in the Codex Alimentarius).

Soluble compounds (gold salts) such as potassium gold cyanide, used in gold electroplating, are toxic to the liver and kidneys. There are rare cases of lethal gold poisoning from potassium gold cyanide.[28][29] Gold toxicity can be ameliorated with chelating agents such as British anti-Lewisite.


See also
Carat (purity)
Colloidal gold
White gold
Rose gold
Black gold
Gold as an investment
Gold coin
Precious metal
Digital gold currency
Hallmark
Altay Mountains
Commodity fetishism
Fool's Gold

Footnotes
^ Environment & Nature News - Bugs grow gold that looks like coral - 28/01/2004. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
^ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SR/gold_color.html
^ The Food Dictionary: Varak. Barron's Educational Services, Inc (1995). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
^ General Electric Contact Materials. Electrical Contact Catalog (Material Catalog). Tanaka Precious Metals (2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
^ Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Nanomedicine: Hybrid Nanoparticles In Imaging and Therapy of Prostate Cancer - Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute, University of Missouri-Columbia
^ Supercars.net. 1994 McLaren F1
^ Nicholas Reeves, Egypt's False Prophet: Akhenaten, Thames & Hudson, p.69
^ Mansa Musa - Black History Pages
^ Kingdom of Mali - Boston University: African Studies Center
^ a b GOLDSHEET - YEARLY and CUMULATIVE WORLD GOLD PRODUCTION CHARTS. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
^ Garvey, Jane A. (2006). Road to adventure. Georgia Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
^ http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/china-now-worlds-largest-gold/story.aspx?guid=%7B8C528CE8%2D0262%2D485D%2DACEB%2D2247D18282CB%7D
^ Beinhoff, Christian. "Removal of Barriers to the Abatement of Global Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining". 
^ Dan Plazak, A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top (Salt Lake: Univ. of Utah Press, 2006) (contains a chapter on gold-from seawater swindles)
^ World Gold Council > discover > gold knowledge > frequently asked questions. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
^ (May 26, 2007) "How Long Will it Last?". New Scientist 194 (2605): 38-39. ISSN 4079 0262 4079. 
^ World Gold Council > value > research & statistics > statistics > supply and demand statistics. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
^ kitco.com: GOLD - London PM Fix 1975 - present (GIF). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
^ LBMA statistics
^ Afp.google.com, Gold Prices Hit Record High Above $880
^ afp.google.com, Gold, platinum hit record peaks
^ U.S. gold hits $1,000 record high
^ Shaw III, C. F. (1999). "Gold-Based Medicinal Agents". Chemical Reviews 99 (9): 2589–2600. doi:10.1021/cr980431o. 
^ a b Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.
^ Seidel, S.; Seppelt, K. (2000). "Xenon as a Complex Ligand: The Tetra Xenono Gold(II) Cation in AuXe42+(Sb2F11−)2". Science 290 (5489): 117–118. doi:10.1126/science.290.5489.117. 
^ Riedel, S.; Kaupp, M. (2006). "Revising the Highest Oxidation States of the 5d Elements: The Case of Iridium(+VII)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 45 (22): 3708–3711. doi:10.1002/anie.200600274. 
^ S Dierks (May 2005). Gold MSDS. Electronic Space Products International.
^ I. H. Wright, C. J. Vesey (1986) Acute poisoning with gold cyanide Anaesthesia 41 (9), 936–939. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2044.1986.tb12920.x [1]
^ Wu, Ming-Ling; Tsai, Wei-Jen; Ger, Jiin; Deng, Jou-Fang; Tsay, Shyh-Haw; Yang, Mo-Hsiung. J. toxicol., Clin. toxicol. Metals. 2001, vol. 39, no 7, pp. 739-743 ISSN 0731-3810 [2]

Bibliography
Faulk W, Taylor G (1979) An Immunocolloid Method for the Electron Microscope Immunochemistry 8, 1081–1083.
Kodak (2006) Toning black-and-white materials. Technical Data/Reference sheet G-23, May 2006.
Roth J, Bendayan M, Orci L (1980) FITC-Protein A-Gold Complex for Light and Electron Microscopic Immunocytochemistry. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry 28, 55–57.
World Gold Council, Jewellery Technology, Jewellery Alloys
Los Alamos National Laboratory