Au. Element 79, rom the Latin Aurum. Melts at 1947 degrees, boils at 5137 degrees. It's electron configuration is [Xe]4f145d106s1. It's been found in graves in ancient Ur dating to more than 3000 BC. It's a very soft metal. It can be presses super thin. Because of this we "discovered" the other components of the atom. Gold is one of the few elements to occur in a natural state. It is found in veins and alluvial deposits. About 1500 tons of gold are mined each year. About two-thirds of this comes from South Africa and most of the rest from Russia. Seawater contains about 4 grams of gold in 1,000,000 tons of water. Overall this is a huge amount of gold stored in the oceans but, because the concentration is so low, attempts to reclaim this gold have always failed. There are atoms of gold inside your body right now. It's not toxic. It has no biological role so our bodies don't need it to function, not like Ca or Na.
So why do we worship it so?
Skim thru Exodus 20 thru 31. Just get a feel for what's happening. You don't have to read every word just look a the titles to the sections in your Bible to see what's happening. In Ex 31:18 God gives Moses a precious gift for the people. Then Chapter 32. They build a golden calf to worship.
Let's talk about why.
See you tomorrow.
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