Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Scientists May Have Just Figured Out How to Make Gold Nuggets
Amaze Lab
Follow
9/3/2024
Alchemists and scientists alike have long sought to figure out exactly how gold forms beneath the Earth’s crust. Now they have new data that challenges pretty much everything we thought we knew about how veins of the precious metal come into being.
Category
📚
Learning
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Alchemists and scientists alike have long sought to figure out exactly how gold forms
00:07
beneath the Earth's crust.
00:09
And while the latter are likely closer to figuring it out, researchers now say they
00:12
have new data that challenges pretty much everything we thought we knew about how veins
00:16
of the precious metal come into being.
00:18
Gold is so rare because it doesn't dissolve very easily in water, meaning it's less
00:22
likely to collect in one particular spot and form large nuggets, which is why large gold
00:26
veins have baffled scientists for ages.
00:29
But now they say quartz electrical voltage during seismic activity might be the cause.
00:34
Gold veins are often found amongst quartz, which is made of silicon dioxide.
00:38
When earthquakes occur, it causes stress on the quartz, which then produces an electric
00:42
voltage.
00:43
The researchers say that while the quartz is an insulating material, the gold that is
00:46
accumulating nearby is a conductor, and that charge might not only jump to the gold, it
00:51
could also cause an electrochemical reaction that pulls the gold out of a solution and
00:56
into one particular area over time.
00:58
They have now tested this theory in a lab, causing micrometer-sized gold grains to form
01:03
out of a solution after just an hour of man-made tremors.
01:06
They add that once an accumulation occurs, it increases the chances of more gold depositing,
01:11
as the gold then behaves like another catalyst for further reactions.
Recommended
1:37
|
Up next
China's Shenzhou 19 Crew Conducts Spacewalk Outside Tiangong Space Station
Space.com
today
2:52
There’s Too Much Gold In The Universe
Live Science
6/23/2025
2:52
There’s Too Much Gold In The Universe - Knowledge
Live Science
5/6/2025
2:52
There’s Too Much Gold In The Universe - Knowledge
Live Science
10/21/2024
2:52
Is There Too Much Gold In The Universe?
Live Science
9/29/2024
3:03
Galaxy Cluster Collision Created 1.6 Million Mile Shockwave
Space.com
today
0:54
Moon’s Far Side And Earth Together In Amazing Satellite Images
Space.com
today
0:30
Bitcoin Hits Near Record Highs Amid Fiat Currency Flux
Cheddar News
yesterday
0:29
Robot Performs Full Gallbladder Removal Autonomously
Cheddar News
yesterday
0:24
Wall Street Eyes Fed Minutes for Rate Cut Signals
Cheddar News
yesterday
1:05
Demo: How to Finger Whistle
Men's Journal1
10/7/2024
0:55
How to Smoke Pork Belly
Men's Journal1
8/22/2024
1:03
How to Smoke a Pork Butt
Men's Journal1
7/25/2024
1:06
Can We Actually Know The Gender of Dinosaurs? How Does One Actually Tell
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:27
This Earth-Sized Planet Was Found Orbiting a Tiny Star
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:13
This Giant Balloon Can Help Us Study the Stars Like Never Before
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:19
This Is One of the Deepest Gorges on Earth
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:18
Can This Plastic Actually Eat Itself After Use?
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:13
This New Campaign Wants Humans To Be Included in the Definition of Nature
Amaze Lab
yesterday
1:22
Could You Better Understand Your Dog With This High-Tech Collar?
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
1:18
This is the Speed of a Black Hole’s Spin and It Will Blow Your Mind
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
1:26
This is Why Sea Otters Are Vital to the Underwater Ecosystem
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
1:12
This is How the Black Plague Evolved To Kill So Many People
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
1:21
Check Out This Insane Iceberg That Broke Off Antarctica
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
1:23
What Is It Like Under the Surface of the Cotton Candy Exoplanet?
Amaze Lab
2 days ago
