Gold surface already with scraping
(Source of image: Reproduction / Southampton University)

Do you know what is the main feature of gold? Well, he's golden! That sounds obvious at the moment, but English scientists at Southampton University are looking to change that story. They have developed a technique that enables gold to change colors by nanorrashing the metal surface.

That's right, by modifying the gold surface (making slight elevations or indentations), they were able to change the way light is reflected. At the moment, it is possible to leave the blue or red metal in several shades. The scientists responsible for the project say this could be applied commercially in the future on two major fronts.

Approximate view of the structure
(Source of image: Reproduction / Southampton University)

The first one is the jewelry industry, which can find new possibilities for one of the most valuable metals in the world. The second is security applications, which could use “gold in disguise” as important document identifiers, as it is difficult to counterfeit.

Source: BBC and University of Southampton