I don't know the technicalities, but my wife's platinum wedding ring is a lot heavier than my gold wedding ring. There is a big difference in weight.
Always took candy from strangers Didn't wanna get me no trade Never want to be like papa Working for the boss every night and day --"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
A very interesting link to the 1814 O.107 platinum pattern, I believe there are 3 known, struck from an intermediate die state. 1814 platinum bust half .
<< <i>So, would a fat person jumping off a tall building hit the ground faster than a skinny person jumping off the same building? Or, just make a bigger mess?
Russ, NCNE >>
I had a debate with a friend who was taking up skydiving: If he hit the ground, would he bounce, or would he go *splat*?
I went with *splat*, but he claimed bounce. I couldn't convince him to do a valid test.
He was right. Bodies at that speed tend to bounce and can sometimes bounce quite a lot.
There have been six or eight people to jump out of planes and neither splat nor bounce and actually survive. One of the oddest was a WW I (?) pilot who jumped from a burning plane and was deposited safe and sound on the ground after hitting the top of a tree and bending it over.
Just several years ago a young California girl was taken for a ride across a park when her high test kite string was entangled in the prop of a passing plane.
Nysoto is correct. It was the 1814 platinum bust half. Sorry I can't give you one as a prize. The link he provided was the same I was going to provide. I had seen Russ Logan's coin a few years ago, and it is truly amazing. It is my understanding that, of the three known, this is the only one in private hands.
They that can give up essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither Liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
You guys are killing me !!! I mean really, all the nonsense about weight versus density !!! Presumably, the coins will be weighed ON THE SAME PLANET for the sake of comparison. (And at the same altitudes, and not traveling at relativistic velocities etc etc). Thus "weight" and "mass" may be used interchangeably, and they will both be in direct proportion with density.
Platinum has a higher density than gold. Period. Thus, given two coins of equal dimensions, designs, and hence volume, the platinum coin will weigh more. It has a higher mass per unit volume (That's what density means). AND THUS IT WILL WEIGH MORE ON THE MOON TOO !!!!!! or on Mars. or on URANUS LOLOLOL
But it's not just the weight that makes it worth more .... (nor the mass, nor the density). Otherwise LEAD coins would be really valuable too !!! Rather, it is supply and demand that makes it worth more. Limited supply, and demand based on many factors, including its usefulness in catalytic converters and other reactors, as well as jewelry et al., which usefulness in turn derives from its various properties.
<< <i>"Heavier" refers to weight used here on Earth, so a better question is which is more "dense"; i.e. which has more matter when the same size container is filled.
Actually platinum is both more and less dense than gold.
Platinum and Gold are Periodic Table buddies, meaning they are right next to each other. Gold is made when Platinum goes through the nuclear fusion process.
Using the Standard Atomic Weights, Gold is more dense than platinum and would therefore "weigh more", but there is an isotope of Platinum that is just a tad more dense the gold (with a Relative Atomic Mass of 197.967 vs. 196.966 for Gold) >>
Hehe. I have to disagree with you here. Pt and Au are right next to each other on the periodic table, but Au is NOT formed when platinum atoms undergo fusion. (In all reality, when the 'big bang' happened and all the matter in the Universe was created, Au and Pt were formed from the fusion of other lighter elements. In order for Au to form from Pt, a Pt atom would have to fuse with a hydrogen atom).
For the density, platinum is more dense than gold in every sense of the word. (By about 0.8 g/cc). Just because Au has a higher atomic mass than Pt does not mean that it is denser. If that trend were correct, then lead would be incredibly dense as it has an atomic mass that is about 10 grams/mole heavier than Au. Lead, however, is about 6 g/cc LESS dense than gold. So don't let position on the periodic table or atomic weight dictate your thought on the density of a substance. The difference in density between different isotopes is not all that great, especially when the difference in atomic mass becomes less and less in terms of percentage. (I.E. the difference in density between protium and deuterium is pretty large since deuterium is twice as heavy as protium is. But when you get higher up, the difference in density between Pt 195 and Pt 196 is almost nothing).
I collect the elements on the periodic table, and some coins. I have a complete Roosevelt set, and am putting together a set of coins from 1880.
Comments
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Platinum weighs 1335.5 lbs. per cubic foot, gold 1204.3 lbs, silver 653 lbs.
<< <i>So, would a fat person jumping off a tall building hit the ground faster than a skinny person jumping off the same building? Or, just make a bigger mess?
Russ, NCNE >>
I had a debate with a friend who was taking up skydiving: If he hit the ground, would he bounce, or would he go *splat*?
I went with *splat*, but he claimed bounce. I couldn't convince him to do a valid test.
There have been six or eight people to jump out of planes and neither splat nor bounce and
actually survive. One of the oddest was a WW I (?) pilot who jumped from a burning plane
and was deposited safe and sound on the ground after hitting the top of a tree and bending
it over.
Just several years ago a young California girl was taken for a ride across a park when her high
test kite string was entangled in the prop of a passing plane.
-Daniel
-Aristotle
Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
-Horace
Platinum has a higher density than gold. Period. Thus, given two coins of equal dimensions, designs, and hence volume, the platinum coin will weigh more. It has a higher mass per unit volume (That's what density means). AND THUS IT WILL WEIGH MORE ON THE MOON TOO !!!!!! or on Mars. or on URANUS LOLOLOL
But it's not just the weight that makes it worth more .... (nor the mass, nor the density). Otherwise LEAD coins would be really valuable too !!! Rather, it is supply and demand that makes it worth more. Limited supply, and demand based on many factors, including its usefulness in catalytic converters and other reactors, as well as jewelry et al., which usefulness in turn derives from its various properties.
Sunnywood
Sunnywood's Rainbow-Toned Morgans (Retired)
Sunnywood's Barber Quarters (Retired)
<< <i>"Heavier" refers to weight used here on Earth, so a better question is which is more "dense"; i.e. which has more matter when the same size container is filled.
Actually platinum is both more and less dense than gold.
Platinum and Gold are Periodic Table buddies, meaning they are right next to each other. Gold is made when Platinum goes through the nuclear fusion process.
Using the Standard Atomic Weights, Gold is more dense than platinum and would therefore "weigh more", but there is an isotope of Platinum that is just a tad more dense the gold (with a Relative Atomic Mass of 197.967 vs. 196.966 for Gold) >>
Hehe. I have to disagree with you here. Pt and Au are right next to each other on the periodic table, but Au is NOT formed when platinum atoms undergo fusion. (In all reality, when the 'big bang' happened and all the matter in the Universe was created, Au and Pt were formed from the fusion of other lighter elements. In order for Au to form from Pt, a Pt atom would have to fuse with a hydrogen atom).
For the density, platinum is more dense than gold in every sense of the word. (By about 0.8 g/cc). Just because Au has a higher atomic mass than Pt does not mean that it is denser. If that trend were correct, then lead would be incredibly dense as it has an atomic mass that is about 10 grams/mole heavier than Au. Lead, however, is about 6 g/cc LESS dense than gold. So don't let position on the periodic table or atomic weight dictate your thought on the density of a substance. The difference in density between different isotopes is not all that great, especially when the difference in atomic mass becomes less and less in terms of percentage. (I.E. the difference in density between protium and deuterium is pretty large since deuterium is twice as heavy as protium is. But when you get higher up, the difference in density between Pt 195 and Pt 196 is almost nothing).