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 is too soft to be used in everyday jewelry, so it is alloyed with other metals to make it stronger and more durable. Pure gold is 24 karat, and 14 karat gold refers to an alloy of gold that contains at least 58.3% pure gold by weight. The balance is made up of other metals to give it strength. Gold is often alloyed with copper, silver, and zinc. Copper is ductile and hard, but tends to tint the alloy pink and is prone to oxidizing.