4 points
4 points
The main reason to electroplate things in gold is that corrosion resistance.
The thinner the coating, the better. Mostly because gold isn’t a very good conductor.
Copper is one of the best conductors available. But the corrosion is the problem. It’s nonconductive.
Also a fun fact. Stainless steel is a better conductor than gold. But gold is slightly easier to use in electroplating.
6 points
I think you might want to do a little digging in your undergrad science books:
The units of electrical conductivity are measured in siemens per meter (S/m). Here’s the electrical conductivity of a few metals:
Stainless Steel: 1.0 - 1.5 × 10^6 S/m
Aluminum: 3.77 × 10^7 S/m
Copper: 5.96 × 10^7 S/m
Gold: 4.52 × 10^7 S/m
Silver: 6.30 × 10^7 S/m
In this list silver has the highest conductivity, and stainless steel the lowest conductivity.
