[catachresis]

Erik, I fear that a superfluity of yellow bile has made you excessively choleric. In order to reestablish homeostasis, I prescribe a dish of leeks and watercress. Abstain from the seeds of the mustard plant and talk radio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, there are really only four considerations when it comes to metals. Essential properties are best categorized as hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness. If you can change these properties, then you can alter their basic properties. Hence, you might be able to transmute base metals - such as lead - into gold. A philosophers' stone can be of assistance. Further, some believe this is the key to immortality. After all, alchemy was pursued for centuries and some great minds spent their lives trying to turn base metals into gold. So there must be something to it, right? Funny thing is that the claims - no matter how many centuries they were pursued - never panned out. This could be due to the "hate" of the scientific community, as we all know that there are still unknowns in the universe. Or, perhaps, alchemy was just a bunch of bunk put forward by people who didn't know any better. Shockingly, some even profited and scammed money with alchemical claims. Imagine that. Making money off folklore claims with dubious scientific merit. Would humans ever stoop so low? You might want to give some serious thought to the mythology and folklore you hear in this forum. Otherwise, someone might try to sell you a stone that will transmute lead into gold.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thermionic /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems that gold plating (and I am very happy to stand corrected in any of this) is not usually applied to a contact’s base metal but on top of a layer of another metal for best adhesion of the gold. (Copper I think was mentioned but there may be many others, and this may apply to silver plating as well.) So, say with a 3.5mm plug we have a base metal of machined brass, then a layer of copper or something else, and then the layer of gold.

Typically when gold is plated over something like copper or brass, they add a barrier layer of nickel. The "problem" is that if you plate pure gold over copper or brass, the two will interdiffuse. In other words, the gold effectively gets absorbed by the base metal which then appears at the surface. The nickel barrier plating prevents this.

"Hard gold" can be plated directly over copper and brass. Hard gold usually includes a bit of cobalt.

se

 

[BIG POPPA]

I looked on the Furutech site on the 2 FI-15 plugs I used and it looks like Just Rhodium over Copper and 24K gold over copper.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif I looked on the Furutech site on the 2 FI-15 plugs I used and it looks like Just Rhodium over Copper and 24K gold over copper.

If they are in fact 24k gold directly over copper, I wouldn't touch 'em.

se

 

[BIG POPPA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koyaan I. Sqatsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif If they are in fact 24k gold directly over copper, I wouldn't touch 'em. se

It hasn't chipped or oxidized???? Works fine? Something I should be aware of besides normal care?

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif It hasn't chipped or oxidized???? Works fine? Something I should be aware of besides normal care?

If there's no sign of the gold having worn off and the copper coming through, then perhaps they're actually plated with hard gold.

se

 

[BIG POPPA]

Furutech is one of the better companies like Oyaide. Don't worry about them too much. Good stuff.