Does gold float or sink in water? Many people want to know whether or not gold floats on water. Density plays an important role to determine if the object will float or sink in fluids. One can get the answer to the aforementioned question by comparing the density of gold and water.
Many of you may have heard of the float test performed to know if the gold is real or fake. You can easily differentiate between genuine and fake gold by seeing whether the gold stays afloat or sinks in water.
Can gold float? Without further ado, let’s find out if the gold sinks or floats on water.
Can Gold Float on Water?
Being denser and heavier Gold does not float on water. The density of the gold prevents it from floating on water instead it drops to the bottom. This property of gold also helps people distinguish between real and fake gold.
If you place a gold item in the water and it begins to float, that means it is not real gold. Gold is classified as heavy metal, therefore, it sinks when dropped in water.
Irrespective of the size of the gold item, it immediately sinks to the bottom when dropped in any liquid. Gold’s density is to be blamed for its sinking properties. Any object having less density than water will automatically float.
Gold is Hydrophobic
Gold is hydrophobic, as the term implies, it repels water. This is also one of the reasons why gold sinks instead of floating. When thrown in a container, it settles at the bottom of the container.
Unless the piece is likely plated or not gold, it will remain in the water. In addition, anything heavier than water will sink and gold is significantly heavier and denser.
However, it is possible for the gold to float for a short while due to the water’s surface tension. This surface tension acts like a trampoline and holds the object up.
Similarly, the gold weight will stretch the water links generating surface tension. The gold will float as long as it is lighter than the upward force from the surface tension.
Why Does Gold Not Float?
There is a simple reason why gold does not float, it is denser than water. Gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm³ whereas water has a density of 1.
This significant difference in densities makes the gold sink into the water.
Being a heavy metal, gold is soft yet heavier, therefore, it can not float on water. Comparing the density of gold with that of liquid water, it is quite clear why gold does not float.
Float Test
One way to identify the fake gold is by performing the float test, however, it is not a sure way of knowing as many metals sink in water. Other metals including nickel, copper, and chromium also sink when dropped in water.
Get an appropriately sized container depending on the size of the container you intend to test. If you gently drop any form of genuine gold on top of the water, it will sink as gold is 19 times denser than water.
If the gold is fake, it will immediately float and may discolor the water. On the other hand, real gold does not rust or discolor the water.
Important to know Gold even does not rust with water but gold-plated brass tarnish with time.
Conclusion
Gold is heavy metal with high density, therefore, you can not expect it to float on water. If it floats, that’s not real gold. To put it simply, gold is significantly denser than water, therefore, any real gold object, be it a bar or coins, will automatically sink when dropped in water.