Where does all the gold come from?

http://www.physorg.com ^ | 09-07-2011 | Provided by University of Bristol

[Dr. Thorne]

Alien gold, eh? Yeah, right.

That's about as believable as anthropogenic global warming.

[Red Badger]

I suspect those comparisons to be questionable.......

If all the gold ever mined were to be brought to one place at one time, impossible and improbable, it seems like it would take up a much larger volume.

I have heard that comparison since I was a small child in the sixties, and I’m sure they have mined much more since then..........

[Red Badger]

Hey, the science is settled. There is consensus.

Algore is a lunatic...........

[Red Badger]

Well, THAT is an alien concept in America......Oh, wait. You said PAVING, not PAYING!...........

[Red Badger]

You’re just asking for a pic of HT aren’t you?........

[RoadTest]

“You’re just asking for a pic of HT aren’t you?........”

HT

HT

Harry Truman?

[abb]

[Tublecane]

“Where does all the gold come from?”

The ground, I think.

[trisham]

Where does all the gold come from?

***************************

Out west somewhere. Old geezer, hermit types pan for it. I think they all wear bandannas and suspenders. It's very quaint.

[Tublecane]

“It is an ALIEN metal, too.”

All elements are alien, except for man made ones like plutonium.

[Fledermaus]

Uh, the ground!

[Romulus]

Maybe God really did make the world in 144 hours, to look exactly the way it looks now in 6000 years after creation.

I am not suggesting that. I am saying that the author or whoever it is confidently assuring us about "geological processes" has no earthly idea what those processes might be. He can with equal confidence explain that it was done by unicorns ridden by talking hamsters.

theories about "geological processes" that take billions of years are more helpful.

Quite. I didn't see any.

[Red Badger]

Helen Thomas!..............

[Red Badger]

...it was done by unicorns ridden by talking hamsters.

Hammsters don't ride unicorns any more. They ride KIAs.......

[ArrogantBustard]

I am saying that the author or whoever it is confidently assuring us about "geological processes" has no earthly idea what those processes might be.

Since the author of that press release is probably some hack in the university's publicity department, that is likely true. The geologists, chemists, and physicists who did the work are not likely to be talking about unicorns pooping skittles. Mining is serious business. Unlike global warming and similar scams, the money is to be made by being provably right, and actually digging valuable stuff out of the ground.

I didn't see any [geological theories]

I wouldn't expect to see them in a brief press release. I'd expect to see those theories discussed in detail in lengthy scholarly and technical writings that address volcanism, and orogeny, and alteration, and uplift, and layer tilting, and similar topics.

[stockpirate]

Also, when a giant meteor strikes the earth it punches a hole in the earths crust. The result is a huge pool of molten earth with a lot of the material coming from below the surface of the earths crust. Many of the largest copper, nickel mines are in fact located in areas of meteor impact sites.

[RoadTest]

Oh. That’s who. Well, in that case, I appreciate your kind consideration in not posting her portrait.

[blueunicorn6]

We unicorns learned a long time ago to never give talking hamsters a ride. All they do is talk about running around in their stupid wheels. “And then I ran in the wheel! And then I ran in the wheel! And then I ran in the wheel!” Remind you of Al Gore.

[blueunicorn6]

Yeah, but us unicorns have a better horn than a KIA.

[seowulf]

All elements are alien, except for man made ones like plutonium.

Where does all the gold come from?

The short answer: supernovae.