Why Sahav?


Sahav (זהב) is the Hebrew word for Gold.

Some interesting informations about the element gold:

The chemical symbol of gold is Au, which derives from the latin name aurum.
Gold was the first pure metal known to man. It has been valuated since the very earliest times and even today its special interest is connected with its value as a metal. In nature gold exists as the native metal or as the telluride ores calaverite and sylvanite, and when found is usually associated with the minerals quartz or pyrites. Gold deposits appear to occur in certain geological belts distributed across the earth's crust and few nations in the favoured belts lack gold deposits.
The greatest gold-producing areas of the world are the Witwatersrand and the Orange Free State regions of South Africa, which at present provide about two-thirds of the world's total production. Other rich deposits have been found in the U.S.A., Russia , Canada and Australia, but none of these have the assurance of persistence of the ore comparable to that of South Africa.

The Element Twenty isotopes of gold are known and of these, one (Au197) is not radioactive. Metallic gold has high electrical and conductivity properties. It is unaffected by air and most reagents and it is the least reactive of all metalls. In the solid mass gold is yellow, but in the finely divided state appears black, ruby or even purple. It is the most malleable and ductile of all metals and 1 oz of gold can be beaten out to 300 sft. It is a soft metal and usually alloyed to give it more strength.
Gold is insoluble in all solvent systems apart from aqua regia, potassium cyanide or hot sulphuric acid.

Reference: Gold: B. F. G. Johnson and R. Davis