Gold

Transition metal · atomic number 79

79196.9665695AuGoldSolidTransition metal

Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au (from Latin:aurum) and atomic number 79. In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element.

Properties of Gold

Element category	Transition metal
Atomic number	79
Atomic mass	196.9665695 u
Phase at STP	Solid
Group	11
Period	6
Block	d
Electron configuration	[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s1
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 1
Electronegativity (Pauling)	2.54
Melting point	1337.33 K (1064 °C)
Boiling point	3243 K (2970 °C)
Density	19.3 g/cm3
Discovered by	Middle East

← Platinum · Periodic table · Mercury → Hg

About the transition metal group

The dense, strong, catalytic heart of the table — iron, copper, gold, titanium — responsible for most of metallurgy, jewellery and industry.

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⚛️ Full periodic table

All 118 chemical elements on one interactive, colour-coded table, each linking to a fact file and plain-language summary.

🧪 Reactive nonmetal

11 elements: Elements that readily gain or share electrons — the building blocks of water, air, living tissue and most organic chemistry.

🧪 Noble gas

6 elements: Full outer electron shells make these gases almost inert: they barely react, glow in discharge lamps and are used to create unreactive atmospheres.

🧪 Alkali metal

6 elements: Soft, wildly reactive metals of group 1 — they fizz in water and never occur pure in nature. Lithium, sodium, potassium and friends.

🧪 Alkaline earth metal

6 elements: Reactive group-2 metals a step calmer than the alkalis: magnesium, calcium and the structural and biological workhorses among them.

🧪 Transition metal

35 elements: The dense, strong, catalytic heart of the table — iron, copper, gold, titanium — responsible for most of metallurgy, jewellery and industry.

🧪 Post-transition metal

9 elements: Softer, lower-melting metals beside the transition block — aluminium, tin, lead — abundant in cans, foils, solders and pigments.

🧪 Metalloid

7 elements: In-between elements that behave as semiconductors: silicon, germanium and boron underpin electronics, glass and solar cells.

🧪 Lanthanide

15 elements: The rare-earth “inner transition” metals that give strong permanent magnets, screen phosphors and catalyst polish.

🧪 Actinide

15 elements: Mostly radioactive, heavy metals — several made only in reactors — whose fission powers nuclear energy and weapons.

🧪 Unknown properties

8 elements: Superheavy synthetic elements made atom-by-atom, existing for fractions of a second; their true chemistry is still unmeasured.