The world’s largest single crystal of gold, weighing 217.78 grams, has been verified by U.S. experts.
The crystal is worth an estimated $ 1.5 million, and was found in Venezuela.
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used a neutron scanner to effectively look inside the 217.78 g piece of gold, roughly the size of a golf ball. Neutrons, differ from probes such as X-rays and electrons, and are able to penetrate many centimetres deep into most materials, researchers said.
“The structure or atomic arrangement of gold crystals of this size has never been studied before, and we have a unique opportunity to do so,” geologist John Rakovan from Miami University said.
