............................................................................................................
Olympic
Medals
What Are Olympic Medals Made
Of?
Chemical Composition of Olympic Medals
by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
What do you think Olympic
medals are made of? Are the Olympic gold medals really gold?
They used to be solid gold,
but now Olympic gold medals are made from something else.
Here's a look at the metal
composition of Olympic medals and how the medals have changed over time.
Once Upon a Time, They Were Solid Gold
The last Olympic gold medal
that was actually made from gold was awarded in 1912.
So, if Olympic gold medals
aren't gold, then what are they?
The specific composition and
design of Olympic medals is determined by the host city's organizing committee.
However, certain standards must be maintained:
· Gold and silver medals are
92.5% silver.
· Gold medals must be plated with
at least 6 grams of gold.
· All Olympic medals must be at
least 3 mm thick and at least 60 mm in diameter.
Bronze medals are bronze, an
alloy of copper and usually tin.
It's worth noting that gold,
silver, and bronze medals have not always been awarded.
At the 1896 Olympic Games,
the winners were awarded silver medals, while the runners-up got bronze medals.
The winners at the 1900
Olympics received trophies or cups instead of medals.
The custom of awarding gold,
silver, and bronze medals started at the 1904 Olympics.
After the 1912 Olympics, the
gold medals have been gilded silver rather than real gold.
Medals That Are Gold
Although the Olympic gold
medal is more silver than gold, there are gold medals that are really
gold, such as the Congressional Gold Medal and Nobel Prize Medal.
Before 1980 the Nobel Prize
medal was made from 23-carat gold. Newer Nobel Prize medals are 18-carat green
gold plated with 24-carat gold.
2016 Rio Summer Olympics Medal Composition
The 2016 Summer Olympics
featured eco-friendly metals. The gold metal used in the gold medals was free
of mercury contamination.
Mercury and gold are
notoriously difficult elements to separate from each other.
The sterling silver used for
the silver medals was partly recycled (about 30% by mass).
Part of the copper used to
make the bronze for the bronze medals was also recycled.
Anne Marie Helmenstine,
Ph.D.
· Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
· Science educator with experience teaching
chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and
graduate levels.
· ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert
since 2001.
· Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for
printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.
Experience
Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and
About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught
chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and
graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also
abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of
Energy.
In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently
serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an
interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist
and college professor.
Education
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and
mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her
doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and
medical diagnostic tests.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
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