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THE
USES OF GOLD
ELECTRONICS
AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMPUTERS/SEMICONDUCTORS
Millions of computers are manufactured worldwide each
year and gold plays an active role in their many components.
The most important use of gold is as a fine wire that
connects circuits to the semiconductors, or the "brains"
of the computer. This "bonding wire" is specially
refined (up to "five nines" or 99.999-percent
pure gold) and has an average diameter of one hundredth
of a millimeter - smaller than the diameter of a human
hair. Gold is also used as a paste with which a circuit
is printed on a ceramic base to produce a printed circuit
board. In other areas, each key on the computer keyboard
strikes gold circuits that relay the data to the microprocessor.
Computer games also use printed circuit boards that
have gold circuitry to connect the logic units in the
game package. Computer peripherals, where there is frequent
plugging and unplugging, use gold-coated contacts to
assure consistently clean, corrosion-free contacts and
reliable signals. Gold is essential in computer circuitry
because of its electrical conductivity and because it
does not degrade over time.
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POWERCHAIRS
Computerized wheelchairs, called powerchairs, allow
disabled patients further control over their movements
and a renewed sense of independence. At the heart
of the computerized controls is a tiny, but powerful,
Motorola microprocessor connected to the wheelchair's
controls by gold wire and gold-coated connector pads.
Gold is used in this application because of its high
electrical conductivity and its resistance to corrosion.
The powerchair, which is exposed to many climates
and temperatures, could not operate properly without
its gold corrosion-resistant components.
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SPACECRAFT
To protect the onboard computers in the Galileo space
probe from short circuiting as a result of heavy bombardment,
NASA developed a Heavy Ion Counter (HIC). The HIC
contains silicon wafers with gold electrodes that
detect the heavy ions as they penetrate the wafers.
Use of the HIC allows NASA engineers to monitor the
functioning of onboard computers and make adjustments
when necessary.
The Pathfinder "robotic geologist" that took
close-up color pictures of rocks and soil on Mars and
analyzed the planet's chemical makeup, relied on sophisticated
electronics to direct its landing and movement. In addition,
intricate gold circuitry enabled sophisticated computer
technology to transmit the Pathfinder's information
back to Earth.
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TELEPHONES
Behind the protective cover of every telephone mouthpiece
is a miniature transmitter that contains gold in one
of its central components, the diaphragm. A gold-plated
dome in the diaphragm works with the other mouthpiece
components to transcribe voice vibrations into an electrical
current. Gold is used in this application because of
its permanence, particularly in public phones that are
exposed to outdoor weather conditions.
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TELEPHONE
WALL JACKS
Because gold conveys a superior signal, and does not
corrode or tarnish, it is used to coat billions of contacts
for phone jacks and connecting cords throughout our
nationwide telephone system. The phone wall jacks are
goldcoated to assure the customer of the convenience
of moving the phone from one wall jack to another while
maintaining clear static-free conversation.
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TVs
AND VCRs
The microcircuitry in televisions is composed of fine
lines of gold circuits connected by hair-thin gold wires
to the micro-electronic circuit chips that process broadcast
signals into a TV picture. Cables connecting television
sets to videocassette recorders are goldcoated to assure
clear relay of the television signal. |
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