The world’s largest single gold crystalMost nuggets are amalgamations of many tiny crystal
The world’s largest single gold crystalMost nuggets are amalgamations of many tiny crystals, some think in part precipitated by the action of microbial life. A ‘too perfect’ 218 gram specimen from Venezuela has recently been authenticated by scientists at Los Alamos national laboratory as the largest single natural gold crystal yet known. The team used a technology called neutron diffraction, in which the crystal structure of the gold bends and distorts a neutron beam, allowing the structure to be seen without damaging the sample while penetrating such a dense metal as gold. Its value to collectors is considerably enhanced by being a single crystal, and the investigation has provided useful knowledge on the structure of large gold crystals.LozImage credit: Los Alamos National Laboratoryhttp://www.lanl.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2014/April/04.07-single-crystal-of-gold-verified.phphttp://www.livescience.com/44717-worlds-largest-gold-crystal.html -- source link
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