3 ms·

Gold has utility as well: it’s highly conductive, doesn’t oxidize easily, is hypoallergenic, malleable, etc. Napkin math tells me that over 50 tons of gold hav

Gold has utility as well: it’s highly conductive, doesn’t oxidize easily, is hypoallergenic, malleable, etc. Napkin math tells me that over 50 tons of gold have been used just in iPhones over the past 13 years. Just like any commodity - if there is demand, there is probably value.

vermilingua 7y ago
And to extract any of that utility, you need an industrial economy. People buy gold when they begin to question the longevity of such an economy.
Symmetry 7y ago
Bismuth is priced at $.39 per gram, copper at $.0074. I would bet gold would end up somewhere in that range or so as opposed to the $48 per gram it's at now.
- neuronic 7y ago
  Looking forward to Bismuth necklaces and Bismuth dental crowns.
  - Symmetry 7y ago
    Bismuth has low toxicity for a heavy metal but I think I'd recommend skipping the dental crowns. Bismuth makes very pretty dangly bits handing off earring or necklaces though. https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+jewelry https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+jewelry
    - logfromblammo 7y ago
      Gold is valued because it doesn't tarnish. Bismuth, on the other hand, becomes beautiful only with a patina of oxide.
- DubiousPusher 7y ago
  No because it's much more rare. All the gold mined in the history of the world could fit into one moderately sized warehouse. 190,000 tons of gold mined in the history of the world vs. 700,000,000 tons of copper.
  - Symmetry 7y ago
    Well, we've mined 320,000 tons of bismuth so that's probably a better comparison than copper. This is all just to get a wide ballpark estimate.
chii 7y ago
> utility as well ... you didn't list utility. You listed physical properties. Utility is how those physical properties help/hinder the use of said material for a purpose. The utility of gold, when society is broken, will be minimal. Except as a barter currency, as it's widely recognized. However, under such a circumstance, i would say other goods are better - such as food staples, guns and bullets, and a shelter you can defend (like a bunker).
- theandrewbailey 7y ago
  ... and toilet paper, apparently.

vermilingua 7y ago

And to extract any of that utility, you need an industrial economy. People buy gold when they begin to question the longevity of such an economy.

Symmetry 7y ago

Bismuth is priced at $.39 per gram, copper at $.0074. I would bet gold would end up somewhere in that range or so as opposed to the $48 per gram it's at now.

neuronic 7y ago
Looking forward to Bismuth necklaces and Bismuth dental crowns.
- Symmetry 7y ago
  Bismuth has low toxicity for a heavy metal but I think I'd recommend skipping the dental crowns. Bismuth makes very pretty dangly bits handing off earring or necklaces though. https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+jewelry https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+jewelry
  - logfromblammo 7y ago
    Gold is valued because it doesn't tarnish. Bismuth, on the other hand, becomes beautiful only with a patina of oxide.
DubiousPusher 7y ago
No because it's much more rare. All the gold mined in the history of the world could fit into one moderately sized warehouse. 190,000 tons of gold mined in the history of the world vs. 700,000,000 tons of copper.
- Symmetry 7y ago
  Well, we've mined 320,000 tons of bismuth so that's probably a better comparison than copper. This is all just to get a wide ballpark estimate.

chii 7y ago

> utility as well ... you didn't list utility. You listed physical properties. Utility is how those physical properties help/hinder the use of said material for a purpose. The utility of gold, when society is broken, will be minimal. Except as a barter currency, as it's widely recognized. However, under such a circumstance, i would say other goods are better - such as food staples, guns and bullets, and a shelter you can defend (like a bunker).

theandrewbailey 7y ago
... and toilet paper, apparently.