h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Why does man value gold?

Why does man consider gold "good" (as in as good as gold)?

Because of its rarity, workability and unreactive nature. See A3327103.

BAM! Gnomon hits the nail right on the head.

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

>> rarity, workability and unreactive nature <<

So anything that is rare, workable and unreactive would be deemed of a "similar" value?

Only if it was shiney and pretty like gold (having said which, silver is a far prettier metal asetically speaking, IMO....)

Because it's indestructible, always believing.

I think the value is also supported by the ability to test an object to determine whether it is gold, rather than some other (more abundant) material. Simple testing can detect most fakes, e.g. biting (softness test), density (Eureka), acid (Nitric acid won't disolve it).

(You've got the power to know) I can play too.

I think it helps that gold is not something that can be easily replicated. Lapus blue and tyrian purple can be easily replicated with cheaper pigments nowadays but, ironically, anything that tries to pretend to be gold often looks far less tacky and so is easy to distinguish from the real thing.

I'm not sure if the beauty of gold and silver is a factor in establishing their value, but it hardly seems to hurt.

>> rarity, workability and unreactive nature <<

These properties seem to be unrelated to utility? So the usefulness or uselessness of gold is not related to its value?

Other than the rarity, these are precisely related to the usefulness. The workability means you can make any shape, including gold leaf which has its own interesting properties. The fact that it does not readily form compounds means that it is useful for medical implants, and objects that need to last a long time. Conveniently it's high conductivity also make it extremely useful in electronic components.

"Conveniently it's high conductivity also make it extremely useful in electronic components."

That it doesn't oxidise is also useful here.

Though not as useful as high-end audio gear manufacturers would have us beleive!

I've heard that computer motherboards need to be recycled so that their gold and/or silver can be retrieved and put to use again.

I don't think it has been shewn that the utility of gold is related to its value. Otherwise why would the majority of it be stored in vaults and safes around the globe?

It's human nature that we find something supremely useful so we hide it away in vaults.

For those who have access to the BBC iplayer, there's a really good discussion on gold in this episode of "Simon Evans goes to market", which is funny as well as informative. Only available for a few more days...

Basically, it's many of the answers above plus...

Why does man value gold?
Because other men also value gold.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b044j94d

Gold is so non-reactive because its the only typical metal which is an oxidizing agent, though a very weak one, so it has very little tendency to react with other oxidizing agents.

Platinum is the next runner up, the weakest reducing agent of the remaining typical metals.

There's a difference of only about 25 kilocalories per gram mole between them, gold having about four times the reactive potential as an oxidizing agent that platinum has as a reducing agents.

Its long been well known that alloying gold with silver or copper improves their resistance to corrosion.

Curiously, platinum has an even stronger effect that way.

Alloying one percent of platinum with copper or silver renders them stainless and they don't thereafter tarnish.

Platinum is even more malleable and ductile than gold, but it lacks that sunny yellow luster of gold, though its an even better mirroring agent than silver or mercury.

I have a related question with regard value. Is it approximately inversely proportional to rarity. That is if half the stocks of gold happen to vanish (lets say a selective passing black hole), would the "value" of gold more or less double?