Gold

With Christmas fast approaching it means it's time for our annual look back at some of the technology that caught our eye and had us wishing our fortunes didn't match that of the Greek economy. While not all of the items on this list can be had for an extremely large wad of cash, those that are available for purchase will only find their way down the chimneys of those with a lottery winning or ultra-wealthy - and ultra-generous - family member or friend. Still, Christmas is a time for miracles so it is in that spirit that Gizmag presents its 2010 top 10 list of things you can't have for Christmas this year. Read More

What do you buy for the person who has everything? An obvious choice is something that's never existed before. Enter the determined textile specialists at Swiss research institute EMPA who spent the last ten years developing a method to affix pure gold onto silk. Only slightly less scarce than hen's teeth and spider silk cloth, the thread can be woven into a beautiful and surprisingly durable, even washable 24 carat fabric that Goldfinger himself would be proud to wear. Read More

German-based company The Deli Garage has introduced a new addition to its lineup of edible products. Perfect for when you're expecting a Bond villain for dinner or just want to give that roast chicken a truly golden finish, the company is now selling Food Finish coloring spray that lets you coat your meal in a varnish of gold, silver, red or blue. Read More

Evidently all that glitters is not entirely gold. Just ask the many disappointed bankers and investors who have discovered some of their large gold bullion bars were ersatz - real gold on the outside, far less valuable tungsten on the inside. Enter General Electric with its Phasor series of portable ultrasonic detectors. Using non-invasive technology identical to that deployed in peering at developing fetuses, GE's devices allow a quick and thorough examination of gold bars for flaws, bubbles and even different materials. Read More

Carbon-based organic photovoltaic cells, which use organic polymers or small molecules as semiconductors, are significantly thinner and cheaper than their inorganic silicon-based counterparts. Unfortunately, they are also much less efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. That could be on its way to changing, however, as an international team of researchers have reportedly boosted the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells by 20 percent ... with some help from gold nanoparticles. Read More

Since we first brought you news of the installation of the world's first permanent gold-dispensing ATM in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, the company behind the innovation has rolled out the machines throughout the United Arab Emirates and Germany, and broke into Italy and the U.S. Luxurious venues chosen for the Gold-to-go machines have so far included the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas and the 124th floor of Dubai's Burj Khalifa. For London, though, the new home for the UK's first vending machine is ... a shopping center. Read More

For as long as I can remember, keeping skin young and fresh has generally involved the liberal application of various moisturizing and nourishing creams with strange-sounding ingredients and an even greater number of anti-aging claims. Spain's Nylstar has managed to bind an important component of skin with 24K gold at a nanoscale level to create NYG nanoparticles. The new nanomaterial is then integrated with nylon fibers to make something called Nylgold dermawear, which is said to have a nourishing and protective effect on the skin of the wearer. Read More

Gold has long been seen as a financial safe haven in times of economic uncertainty. This don’t look like changing any time soon with the price of gold reaching a record high of US$1377.60 an ounce this week on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That might be good news for gold miners but not so good for the manufacturers of electronic devices that are reliant on not only gold, but also other precious metals. In some modern day alchemy, researchers have modeled and developed new classes of alloy materials that boast the properties that makes gold so attractive for electronic applications. Read More

We’ve reported on some rather questionable products of gold plating technology before, including a gilded iPhone, Wii gaming system and barbecue. There are legitimate reasons to coat things in gold, however, such as in the production of nanoelectronics and semiconductors. The coatings used in these applications are infinitely thinner than what you would typically use on an iPhone, so it is of the utmost importance that they be as smooth and uniform as possible. Recently, researchers at Troy, New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced that they have devised a quick and simple method of producing just such coatings. Read More