blackwolf365 said:
i know that gold isnt the only metal in the foils. only a lame-brained goober would think otherwise. gold is to valuable and useful to use in its pure form for these foils.
First off all - that is a
total assumption on your part - gold plating used in electronics is VERY NEAR pure if not pure --- it ALL falls with in the specs of 24 karat - which is considered pure
There are 3 "types" of gold plating (used in electronics) depending on the application - such as solderability - resistance to wear - low voltage conductivity - etc.
Type 1 =
minimum purity of 99.7 %
Type 2 =
minimum purity of 99 %
Type 3 =
minimum purity of 99.9
In the type 1 & type 2 plating cobalt is used as a hardener - but if you look at the numbers - that means even in the type 2 there is ONLY 1 gram cobalt in a 100 gram gold bar ( 100 gram bar = 99 grams gold/1 gram cobalt) = 24 karat gold = pure gold
In other words - high purity of gold is needed/required - first for "low volt" conductivity - as well as durable/reliable solder connections - & in the case of where parts are removable/replaceable a VERY small amount of cobalt is added (for hardener) without effecting conductivity (which runs at such a low DC voltage it is considered a "signal")
You can read about it here
:arrow: http://proplate.com/gold-plating-services.html
but that begs the following question: what about the nickel and copper? do they get ignored/forgotten here?
i did a quick search on the web for scrap prices of nickel and copper. copper goes for $1.45 to $2.30 a pound. nickel goes for $0.10 to $0.35 a pound.
one has to wonder how much money in nickel and copper gets thrown away because they just don't get thought of.
Per the underlined - again - you "assume" these metals get ignored/forgotten --- if you follow "proper" waste treatment procedure those metals are recovered by a process called cementing wherein you use iron to drop (or cement) those metals back out of solution --- those meals can then be smelted & poured into bars & sold as the copper alloy known as nickel brass --- once the copper/nickel is cemented out of the solution - you end up with a solution of dissolved iron - that solution is then treated with sodium hydroxide which drops the iron out (as a hydroxide) which can be filtered out & sent to the dump & the filtered solution dumped down the drain
That's the short story --- to do it "right" you need to do MUCH more research on "proper" waste treatment because if not done right you will be throwing away & dumping down the drain
toxic AND corrosive waste
Did you get what I underlined there - I said --- toxic AND corrosive ---- if you are going to do this - you need to understand the toxic AND corrosive nature of this & how to deal with that FACT so that you don't put your self & OTHERS in harms way
That means you NEED to start doing more reseach --- MUCH more research --- it's ALL here on the forum
Kurt