History Of Gold: Older Than Earth Itself, But Where Did This Metal Come From?

The entire world, including banks from various countries, is currently fascinated by gold. This fascination isn’t just a modern trend; it has historical roots, with kings and emperors waging wars over it and scientists attempting to create it in laboratories. But where did gold on Earth originate? Some scientific studies suggest that gold is older than our planet itself.

Scientific studies show that every atom of gold and silver on Earth was formed long before our planet existed, emerging from dying stars.

News18 explains how these atoms reached Earth, how much gold our planet holds today, and how much might exist across the universe.

How It All Began

The universe is estimated to have begun 13.8 billion years ago with the Big Bang, creating hydrogen, helium, and

lithium, but no heavy elements. Over time, stars formed, and the gravity at their centres converted hydrogen into helium, producing energy and light similar to our Sun. Helium eventually turned into carbon, oxygen, silicon, and iron. When a star’s core fills with iron, it dies, and during its explosive death, a unique chemical reaction occurs. This reaction, involving a neutron bombardment, creates metals like gold, silver, platinum, and uranium.

Gold Equal To 10 Earths Formed In 2017

In 2017, scientists observed an explosion and chemical reaction in space that produced gold equivalent to the weight of 10 Earths. This event involved a neutron star collision, which is only about 20 kilometres wide but has a greater mass than the Sun. A spoonful of its material would weigh billions of tons. The collision’s waves were detected 130 million light-years away, and the explosion generated an enormous amount of gold and even more platinum.

Gold Is Born From The Ashes Of Cosmic Explosions

Astrophysicist Jennifer Johnson highlighted that holding a piece of gold is akin to holding the ashes of the universe, indicating that gold existed long before Earth formed. If all the gold from the 2017 explosion reached Earth, its weight would surpass that of the planet.