4.3 billion years ago, the Earth received a 'golden rain' with a mass of 6 billion tons, so where did all that gold go?

Gold is not only a precious metal, a symbol of wealth and luxury, but also carries within it a mysterious cosmic story about its formation from collisions between neutron stars.

Gold, a precious metal with a long history of value, has long been considered a symbol of power and wealth. Commonly used in jewelry, electronics and the aerospace industry, gold attracts people not only because of its sparkling beauty but also because of its exceptional scarcity and durability. However, have you ever wondered where gold really comes from? Is the amount of gold on Earth as limited as we often think?

Gold is a precious metal with long-standing value.

Gold: From jewelry to materials for science and technology!

Gold is a simple chemical element, symbol Au, that is soft, shiny and resistant to corrosion, making it the perfect material for making jewelry and technological devices. In many countries, gold is used as a measure of value and is converted into units such as ounces, while in China and Vietnam, gold has been calculated in the unit "两 - luong/lang" since ancient times.

Thanks to its unique chemical properties and good electrical conductivity, gold is also an important material in many modern industries, especially in the fields of aerospace and electronics. Although it is common in many fields, what makes gold even more special is its scarcity.

Is gold really as scarce as we think?

The saying ' Rare things are expensive' seems to have become the truth when it comes to gold. However, recent scientific studies have shed light on an interesting fact about the origin of gold and the potential amount of gold on this planet. According to scientists, the total gold reserves hidden under the Earth's surface could be up to 6 billion tons. If this amount of gold were divided equally among the entire world's population, each person would receive hundreds of kilograms of gold – a number that surprises many people.

 According to scientists, the total gold reserves hidden under the Earth's surface could be up to 6 billion tons.

However, having such a huge amount of gold does not mean that it is easy to access and mine. Most of the gold is deep in the Earth's crust, with only a small fraction present near the surface, which explains why gold mining is difficult and expensive.

The True Origin of Gold

Contrary to popular belief, gold on Earth did not form naturally within the Earth. Instead, scientists believe that gold originated from a cosmic event about 4.3 billion years ago. According to research, there are two main ways gold is formed: supernova explosions during the formation of neutron stars, and collisions between two neutron stars.

It was thanks to one of these neutron star collisions that gold fell to Earth in a cosmic 'gold rain' . About 4.3 billion years ago, this collision created a huge amount of gold covering the Earth's surface, with an estimated thickness of about 4 meters, containing more than 6 billion tons of gold. However, over billions of years of geological changes, most of this gold has been buried deep underground, leaving only a small portion on the surface that we can mine.

Scientists have also discovered evidence of this cosmic event through geological surveys in Greenland. The results show many signs of uneven distribution of gold on the Earth's surface, explaining why gold mining is difficult and expensive today.

There are many signs of uneven distribution of gold on the Earth's surface.

Although there is a lot of gold on the planet, mining large quantities of it is nearly impossible. Because most of the gold is buried deep in the crust, humans can only mine a small fraction of it, which keeps it scarce. This scarcity has kept the value of gold high and shows no signs of waning, despite advances in mining technology.

Gold is not only found on Earth, but also on other planets in the Solar System. Scientists believe that planets like Jupiter and Saturn may contain giant "oceans" of diamonds and many other rare resources. However, the great distance and harsh conditions of space make it impossible to access and exploit resources from these planets at the present time. Therefore , gold on Earth is still a rare resource that humans need to cherish.

Gold is mainly located deep under the thick crust, humans can only exploit a small part.

Gold is not only a precious metal, a symbol of wealth and luxury, but also carries within it a mysterious cosmic story about its formation from collisions between neutron stars. Although the gold reserves on Earth may be larger than we think, the uneven distribution and difficulties in mining gold still maintain its high value . In the future, when technology develops, accessing rare resources from space may open up new opportunities, but for now, gold on Earth is still a treasure that people always crave.