6 ms·
I'm not an expert, and absolutely willing to be proven incorrect here. But I thought that gold was a better conductor, and that's why they're better for audio
by louthy 12y ago
I'm not an expert, and absolutely willing to be proven incorrect here. But I thought that gold was a better conductor, and that's why they're better for audio cables (less resistance). Surely the fact that gold is a soft metal would be a reason to not use it for reasons of 'extending lives'?
- nitrogen 12y agoAccording to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistivity#Resistivity_of_various_materials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistivity#Resistivity_of_var..., copper has a lower resistance per meter than gold. Gold, however, is much more resistant to oxidation.
- seventytwo 12y agoSilver > Copper > Gold > Aluminum for conductivity. Gold is used as plating for anti-corrosion/tarnishing and wear, as the other user pointed out. It can be pressed extremely thin and still act as a good coating, so it's not really all that expensive.
- GregBuchholz 12y agoAt warm temperatures. Aluminum is a superconductor below 1.2 Kelvin.
- nsxwolf 12y agoNot likely to encounter those temps in the studio.
- mikeash 12y agoGold has more resistance than metals like copper. Its usefulness in electronics comes from the fact that it doesn't corrode or oxidize.
- q3k 12y agoCopper is 1.68×10−8 Ω·m [1], while gold is 2.44×10−8 Ω·m [2]. [1] - Douglas Giancoli (2009) [1984]. "25. Electric Currents and Resistance". In Jocelyn Phillips. Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. p. 658. ISBN 0-13-149508-9. [2] - Raymond A. Serway (1998). Principles of Physics (2nd ed.). Fort Worth, Texas; London: Saunders College Pub. p. 602. ISBN 0-03-020457-7.
- madengr 12y agoGold isn't the best conductor. Silver is better, followed by copper, but they oxidize, and gold does not. It's the oxide that forms the insulator. There are both hard and soft gold platings is electronics. Hard gold is for wearing contact surfaces such as connectors and relays. Soft gold for solderable and wire bondable surfaces.
- jacquesm 12y agoCopper and silver are better conductors. Golds main advantage is that it does not corrode. Zinc has that advantage too and is much cheaper, conduction is a non-issue because the surface is fairly large and the amount of material to traverse microscopically thin.
- baddox 12y agoI always thought it was because gold does not oxidize or corrode very easily.