cover of episode Why Gold? (Classic)

Why Gold? (Classic)

2024/5/15
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Sally Helm
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Sanat Kumar
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Sally Helm概述了黄金在历史上作为货币和财富象征的地位，并引出了对黄金价值的探讨。 Jacob Goldstein和David Kestenbaum通过与化学工程教授Sanat Kumar的访谈，系统地分析了元素周期表中各种元素作为货币的可能性。他们首先排除了惰性气体和碱金属等活泼元素，然后又排除了放射性元素和丰度过高的元素，例如硅和铜。他们指出，理想的货币元素需要具备化学稳定性、非放射性、稀有性、易于冶炼和测试等特性。在讨论中，他们还提到了铂和钯等贵金属，但最终认为黄金更适合作为货币，因为它具有较低的熔点，易于冶炼，并且其颜色和外观使其易于识别和纯度测试。 Sanat Kumar从化学和文化角度阐述了黄金的价值。他分享了其家族在印度使用黄金作为财富储备和嫁妆的传统，并强调了黄金的耐腐蚀性和易于储存的特性。 Sanat Kumar分享了其家族在印度使用黄金作为财富储备和嫁妆的传统，并强调了黄金的耐腐蚀性和易于储存的特性。他详细描述了其祖父家中的金匠如何使用传统的工具和技术来制作黄金首饰，这突显了黄金在印度文化中的重要地位。 Jacob Goldstein和David Kestenbaum通过与化学工程教授Sanat Kumar的访谈，系统地分析了元素周期表中各种元素作为货币的可能性。他们首先排除了惰性气体和碱金属等活泼元素，然后又排除了放射性元素和丰度过高的元素，例如硅和铜。他们指出，理想的货币元素需要具备化学稳定性、非放射性、稀有性、易于冶炼和测试等特性。在讨论中，他们还提到了铂和钯等贵金属，但最终认为黄金更适合作为货币，因为它具有较低的熔点，易于冶炼，并且其颜色和外观使其易于识别和纯度测试。 Sally Helm总结了黄金作为货币的优势，包括其稳定性、无毒性、稀有性、易于测试以及在自然界中易于发现等特点。

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In the past few months, the price of gold has gone way up – even hitting a new high last month at just over $2,400 per troy ounce. Gold has long had a shiny quality to it, literally and in the marketplace. And we wondered, why is that? Today on the show, we revisit a Planet Money classic episode: Why Gold? Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum will peruse the periodic table of the elements) with one goal in mind: to learn which element would really make the best money.*This classic Planet Money episode was part of the Planet Money Buys Gold) series, and was hosted by Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum.This rerun was hosted by Sally Helm, produced by Willa Rubin, edited by Keith Romer, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney).Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts), Spotify), Google Podcasts), the NPR app) or anywhere you get podcasts.*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)