Tag: steel

Gold: the original “Chick Magnet”

Yummy, delightful gold

Gold has been making headlines again recently, due mainly to the fact that as the rest of the economy crashes and burns, the value of gold just keeps going higher. At over $1800 per troy ounce, gold is once again proving that when things go south, gold goes north.

But why is it that gold is so precious? Although it has plenty of uses, on a purely practical level, iron, copper or aluminum are far more practical. If you were stuck on a desert island with only one type of of metal to rely on for your survival, chances are you wouldn’t pick gold.

Of course, the fact that gold is rare plays greatly into its role as a “precious” metal. The world’s holdings of gold accumulated through all recorded history only amount to around 120,000 metric tons. Compare this to the fact that in 1995, the average hourly output of steel was 10,500 tons. Whereas the average increase in the world’s gold supply is only around 2000 tons a year, American steel increases by around 10,500 tons per hour. Another way to look at this is that the totality of all available gold would fit inside a cube measuring 60 cubic feet. Its value would be more than $1.4 trillion.

It makes sense then that gold became the first form of actual money. But this still does not fully explain why it has always been considered to be so very precious. Independent of location, culture or time, gold has always been revered by every culture that had any access to it as an extremely coveted commodity.

This could have something to do with the inherent properties of gold. Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all metals. One ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire 50 miles long, or hammered into a thin translucent sheet 1000 times thinner than a piece of paper. Gold does not tarnish or corrode. Gold also occurs in a virtually pure state, whereas most other metals need to be extracted from ore-bodies. Gold has been found nearly everywhere in the world. Because it was first found in streams and rivers, the Egyptians thought it was a particularly dense combination of water and sunlight. The Incas called it “tears of the sun”. It is generally understood to be the first metal ever collected or used by humans. Its association with gods, immortality, power and wealth are common throughout history and to this day.

But this still does not explain why, in every place that gold was found, the humans decided it was very valuable. On a purely practical level, gold is not strong enough to use for weapons or utensils. Culturally speaking, this is in fact baffling, since the perceived value of nearly everything throughout history can be traced to its practical uses. With that in mind, why wasn’t iron or bronze the first form of money? After all, the discovery and use of iron helped create a quantum leap in human civilization, literally taking us out of the Stone Age.

The earliest texts and archaeological evidence prove that gold was not used for tools. In fact they prove the opposite: the first uses of gold were very similar to its predominant modern use: gold was used for ornamentation; or, in other words, jewelry. This makes sense, since both its properties and its appearance lend itself to such a thing. If I was a Stone Age Babe, I would definitely prefer a gold pendant over one made out of bones or teeth.

Historically and archaeologically, the common denominator of the uses of gold in human cultures has always come down to one simple concept: aesthetics. Gold is beautiful. Above its properties or its scarcity, this is the predominant fact that helps to explain its consistent role as a truly precious commodity. Turning it into money or a standard for world currencies came as an afterthought. Its original allure was the same that it has always been since: gold is really pretty. This also helps to explain why the concept of gold has also been equated with vanity and with greed: the concept of beauty has also been confused with these traits.

So call it vanity, or call it art appreciation. What is interesting here is that the role of gold throughout human civilization shows there is more at work in the human psyche than simply practical considerations. While it could be argued that the irreducible minimum of an appreciation for the “finer things in life” still aids our basest survival needs such as mating and procreation, this simply doesn’t jive with the subjective reality of our ongoing love affair with beauty. And while concepts of beauty have changed and varied through time and different cultures, gold seems to be one of those things that every human group has found to be very lovely indeed.

It could then be argued that the most valuable things throughout civilization, and indeed the human experience, are not the weapons and materials of war and “progress”, but rather those things that inspire us, even “for no good reason”.

It is nice to acknowledge this, as it proves that there is more that drives us than just our base animal instincts, as some would have us believe.

-Anja Wulf

Steel hull construction for mega yachts is huge moneymaker

I’ve recently been spending a disproportionate amount of my time working on a boat. By boat, I mean a 39-ft sail boat (or cruiser, if you prefer) that we are planning to sail to the Caribbean in a few weeks. Anyone who’s owned or worked with boats will tell you that the amount of work that goes into the maintenance and upkeep of one cannot possibly be exaggerated. Re-sanding and re-varnishing the entire interior is just the icing on the cake. The electrical needs rewiring in places, the plumbing needs an overhaul, the hull needs to be scraped and repainted, the windows need to be painted and installed, and the list just keeps going on from there. In fact, it’s kind of depressing just writing about it, considering that our plan is to leave at the end of the month.

So in order to cheer myself up a bit, I decided to do a little online shopping for mega yachts. I figure if it’s this much work to maintain and prep a 39 foot boat, mega yacht owners must be offering a lot of money just to unload their boats to some poor sucker like me.

I found one that I thought was kind of cute. In case you think this has nothing to do with metal fabrication machinery, think again. This ship’s hull is made entirely of steel. It has 8 decks and platforms. Aluminum alloys are used for the manufacturing process, which are formed of seven modules which in their turn were assembled out of several different sections.

The overall length of the boat is 158 meters. For those of you who don’t know miles from meters, an average city block is about 160 meters. The upper deck also comes fully equipped with a dock hangar providing landing sites for 2 helicopters, as well as 2 locations for refueling them. So yes, that’s a lot of metal right there.

Described as a “jewel of design”, the yacht also features a huge hall with 3-story high columns, a multiple dome arched ceiling, balconies and numerous luxurious staircases, a “winter garden” described as a “real paradise corner” featuring multiple swimming pools, waterfalls, trees and lanais, and a pier for pleasure boats – sort of an island within the boat.

The central part of the yacht is built in the image of an altar and features a Throne Hall, statues of 7 major saints, golden balls which are supposed to reflect the Glory of God, golden halos, and fresco paintings attesting to the Life and Acts of God and the Saints. The main statue is a statue of God with a golden face, which “can easily be rotated around its axis, staying always to face the congregation”.

According to its own listing, “the whole appearance of the yacht is subordinated to one central message: Glory and Grandeur of show-power-Simplicity, availability and proximity to us – our Lord”.

Personally, I don’t have a clue what this is supposed to mean, but by now I’m starting to form a vague idea that the maintenance of this boat might be a little more than I could comfortably handle. I’m also thinking that the cost of filling up her tank would be more than what I earn in an entire year.

Which, of course, makes me even more confident that the owners must be willing to pay a lot of money to someone who’d volunteer for the responsibility of being saddled with this boat.

Not so: they are actually planning on selling it to some poor sucker. Asking price: 277,000,000 Euros.

If that’s what they mean by “availability and proximity to us – our Lord”, then I’d say there might be just a wee bit of false advertising going on here.

The good news for the metal industry is that there seems to be a lot of money to be made in the construction of these monster yachts. Take note, folks: I appear to have stumbled upon an excellent target market for C Marshall Fabrication, as well as metal machinery outfits in general. Think of the amount of steel needed to construct a hull of this size!

The other good news is, I’m feeling a little more comfortable with my 39-foot sailboat.

-Anja Wulf