There remained, then, only two possible solutions of the question, which created two distinct parties: on one side, those who were for a monster of colossal strength; on the other, those who were for a submarine vessel of enormous motive power.
Gold is the most malleable of all metals; a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, and an avoirdupois ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become semi-transparent.
Pure gold equals 24 karats, or 24k, a caratage that can also be expressed in decimal form as .999 fine. Gold can never be 100% pure since there are always some impurities in it. The finest gold ever created was .999999 fine. The decimal is found by dividing the actual caratage by 24, the most carats gold can have.