Does gold float?
Does gold float?
No
19,300 kg/m³ against water's 1,000
Gold sinks. At 19,300 kg/m³ it is 19.30 times denser than water.
Why
Floating is decided by density alone — mass divided by volume — compared against the fluid. Weight has nothing to do with it directly: a 200-tonne ship floats and a 2-gram pebble sinks, because the ship encloses enough air to bring its average density below that of water. That is also the only reason a steel hull works.
The numbers
- Density
- 19,300 kg/m³
- Relative to fresh water
- 19.300×
- Floats in fresh water
- No
- Floats in seawater
- No
Compared with other materials
| Material | Density | Floats |
|---|---|---|
| mercury | 13,534 kg/m³ | No |
| tungsten carbide | 14,900 kg/m³ | No |
| tungsten | 19,250 kg/m³ | No |
| gold ← | 19,300 kg/m³ | No |
| platinum | 21,450 kg/m³ | No |
Common questions
- Does gold float in water?
- No — at 19,300 kg/m³ it is denser than water's 1,000.
- Does weight decide whether something floats?
- No, density does. A 200-tonne ship floats and a small pebble sinks, because the ship encloses enough air to bring its average density below water.
Related pages
- Gold properties Density, melting point, strength
- Does air float? Yes
- Does expanded polystyrene foam float? Yes
- Does rigid polyurethane foam float? Yes
- Does EVA foam float? Yes
- Does balsa float? Yes
- Does corrugated cardboard float? Yes
- Does cork float? Yes
- Does western red cedar float? Yes
Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)