Q on gold leaf suspension

[Lanky]

Hey guys,

I bought a few little tourist bottles of gold leaf in Japan. The gold leaf was floating evenly in the suspension. Its leaked. I replaced with water but the gold leaf clumps together and floats to the top even though no air in the mix (guessing there is some trapped in and around the gold leaf). Does anyone know what is in that suspension?
Cheers stru

 

[goody2shoes]

Maybe not gold..

Could be trapped air in the golf leaf..

Goody

 

[user 4386]

Mine comes in vodka.

Seriously though, it may have something to do with the SG/viscocity of the liquid. Try meths if you can get clear meths (it has an SG of .79, only 79% that of water). Or vodka.... Make sure everything is dry, as meths absorbs water, which makes it denser.

It is probably gold - gold leaf is incredibly thin (you can buy say 25 pages of 6 cm x 6cm sheets for around $50).

I suspect you will have trouble separating the leaves again....

 

[user 4386]

It may not be so simple - sounds like some type of gum is used to keep gold flakes suspended in alcohol:

http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20120107468


Hi, i want to find out the exact liquid used in vials or bottles of floating gold leaf. The type sold as novelties in gold rush towns. I have been told that it's a mixture of glycerine and alcohol. If this is correct i would really like to know the mixture ratio used. Thanks



Best Answer: Addition of glycerin could boost floatation of gold leaves.
If you want it for decoration only, you could test out several mixtures of ethanol and glycerin till you`ve got the concentration you like most. The solvents don`t damage the expensive gold flakes, so they can be removed by sieving. Start with 10% glycerin in ethanol/water 90%.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Try Baby oil.... And No, it is Not extracted from Babies.... {)

LW.....

 

[Lanky]

Thanks guys ill experiment

 

[sonena]

It may not be so simple - sounds like some type of gum is used to keep gold flakes suspended in alcohol:

http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20120107468


Hi, i want to find out the exact liquid used in vials or bottles of floating gold leaf. The type sold as novelties in gold rush towns. I have been told that it's a mixture of glycerine and alcohol. If this is correct i would really like to know the mixture ratio used. Thanks



Best Answer: Addition of glycerin could boost floatation of gold leaves.
If you want it for decoration only, you could test out several mixtures of ethanol and glycerin till you`ve got the concentration you like most. The solvents don`t damage the expensive gold flakes, so they can be removed by sieving. Start with 10% glycerin in ethanol/water 90%.

Question, how much ethanol and how much water? Is it even? 45%-45%?

 

[Hawkear]

May be a lot to do with surface tension. Which can cause objects heavier than water to float and clump. One way to reduce surface tension is to add a tiny drop of detergent.
Gold leaf is not as expensive to buy as you might think as gold is one of the most malleable and ductile of all elements. So malleable that single gram of gold can be beaten using traditional methods into a sheet of gold foil measuring 10 square feet. So ductile that a gram can be drawn out into a wire 2 km long. (Source Wikipedia).
A little can go a long way and no wonder it has been prized for centuries and even now in the space industry where many satellites are covered with gold foil because of its unmatched thermal insulation and radiation protective abilities.