Engineering uses of precious metals (was Re: Excavating...)

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Article #346

#346

From: JOSEPH T CHEW
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1991 15:37

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>Actually, the advantages due to gold's great conductivity properties
>could also be used to significantly reduce the electric power losses during
>its transmission (i.e., replace copper with gold in transmission lines).
>===> <pooff> goes the forecast of an electric energy crisis...  :-)

Hmm.  What are transmission lines made of, anyway?  The ones I've
examined up close (towards the pointy end of the power grid) appear to 
be aluminum wrapped around a steel carrier.  

More to the point, people keep alluding to the wonderful engineering uses
to which we could put cheap, plentiful gold and platinum.  What are they?
I'm curious.

Suggest followup to sci.engr for these questions and sci.space for
further discussion of the contaminated-iron asteroid.

--Joe
"Just another personal opinion from the People's Republic of Berkeley"

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From: jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW)
Newsgroups: sci.engr,sci.misc,sci.space,sci.econ
Subject: Engineering uses of precious metals (was Re: Excavating...)
Message-ID: <14197@dog.ee.lbl.gov>
Date: 12 Jun 91 15:37:53 GMT
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