Weight of Gold
We've all heard the expression that something is worth it's weight in gold. And most of us have seen stacks of gold bars on television or the movies and wondered exactly what is the weight of gold?
The actual weight of gold is measured in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. There are 1,000 grams in a kilogram which means that a troy ounce is equal to 3.11% of a kilogram (kg) or 6.84% of a pound (lb).
NOTE: Perhaps for most people this comment is merely a matter of trivia but it's an appropriate time to point out that while there are 16 standard ounces in a pound there are only 12 troy ounces in a troy pound.
With regards to addressing the weight of gold in a gold bar we must first specify the size of the gold bar in question. The size of the gold bars in the United States Federal Reserve and in Fort Knox are 7 inches long, 3.625 inches wide, and 1.75 inches deep. These standard sized gold bars weigh 30.94 pounds each.
The actual weight of gold is measured in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. There are 1,000 grams in a kilogram which means that a troy ounce is equal to 3.11% of a kilogram (kg) or 6.84% of a pound (lb).
NOTE: Perhaps for most people this comment is merely a matter of trivia but it's an appropriate time to point out that while there are 16 standard ounces in a pound there are only 12 troy ounces in a troy pound.
With regards to addressing the weight of gold in a gold bar we must first specify the size of the gold bar in question. The size of the gold bars in the United States Federal Reserve and in Fort Knox are 7 inches long, 3.625 inches wide, and 1.75 inches deep. These standard sized gold bars weigh 30.94 pounds each.
The weight of gold (like all things) is based on its density. The density of gold is 19.3 (g/cc). What this means is that for every cubic centimeter of gold the weight of that cubic centimeter is 19,3 grams. As a frame of reference there are 1,000 grams in a kilogram (kg) and about 455 grams in a pound (lb).
To put this density into perspective a cubic centimeter is the same volume as a milliliter (mL). With that knowledge here are some examples of the weight of gold as it relates to sizes most people are familiar with:
To put this density into perspective a cubic centimeter is the same volume as a milliliter (mL). With that knowledge here are some examples of the weight of gold as it relates to sizes most people are familiar with:
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of gold = 96.5 grams (9.65% of a kg and 21.23% of a lb)
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of gold = 289.5 grams (28.95% of a kg and 63.69% of a lb)
- 1 cup (250 mL) of gold = 4,825 grams (4.825 kg and 10.615 lbs)
- 1 liter (1,000 mL) of gold = 19,300 grams (19.3 kg and 42.46 lbs)
Based on the weight of a liter of solid gold we can quickly calculate the weight of gold for much larger volumes.
If a two liter bottle that is normally full of soda was filled with solid gold it would weigh 38.60 kilograms in the metric system or 84.92 pounds in the US customary system.
If a two liter bottle that is normally full of soda was filled with solid gold it would weigh 38.60 kilograms in the metric system or 84.92 pounds in the US customary system.
If the milk in a gallon of milk were poured out and somehow replaced with gold the weight would skyrocket from about 8.5 pounds with the milk to 160 pounds (73 kg) with the gold.
The average below ground swimming pool at house holds about 20,000 gallons of water which equates to 75,708.24 liters. A standard sized personal swimming pool completely filled with gold instead of water would weigh 1.46 million kilograms or 3.21 million pounds. As a point of comparison if that same pool were filled with water the weigh of water in the pool would only be 75,867 kilograms or 166,908 pounds. Essentially, gold with a density of 19.3 (g/cc) weighs 19.3 times more than water which has a density of 1 (g/cc) as water is the standard unit of measurement.
To take these comparisons to the extreme let's look at an Olympic-size swimming pool with a standard volume of about 660,000 gallons or 2.5 million ( 2,498,372) liters. When filled with water the weight comes out to an astounding 2.5 million kilograms or 5.5 million pounds. If the water in an Olympic size swimming pool were to be replaced with gold the weight would come to about 48.2 million kg or 106 million pounds. The dollar value of that 106 million pounds of gold equates to roughly $1.8 trillion by March, 2010 gold prices.
In the entire history of the world (as of 2009) there has only been 161,000 metric tons of gold mined in human history. A metric ton is equal to 1,000 kilograms. To offer some perspective as to just how rare gold is if you could round up every single troy ounce ever found in human history all of that gold would only fill 3.34 Olympic sized pools. If you're wondering about the dollar value of all that gold the answer (based on March, 2010 pricing) is just shy of $6 trillion in US currency.
Finally, to have a bit of fun with this topic let's discuss the water coolers that can be found in most offices and some homes. Each of these coolers has a heavy five gallon jug of water that rests on top. Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of having to change one of these bottles knows how difficult it can be to handle these awkward, large, and heavy water jugs. Each of these water jugs weigh 41.73 pounds or 18.97 kilograms using the metric system. If one of those five gallon water jugs were filled with solid gold the weight would balloon to an unmanageable 803.77 pounds or 365.35 kilograms.
NOTE: If you're wondering about the atomic weight of gold based on the periodic table, gold (which has the symbol Au) has an atomic weight of 196.9665.
