Comparison
Tungsten vs gold
Gold is 19.32 grams per cubic centimetre. Tungsten is 19.30. The gap is two hundredths of a gram per cubic centimetre, about one tenth of one percent, and no human hand has ever detected it.
That near-identity is the most interesting fact about tungsten, and the reason it occupies a strange place in both metallurgy and fraud.
- 19.3
- Tungsten g/cm³
- 19.32
- Gold g/cm³
- 0.1%
- Gold is denser — a near tie
Cube weight, tungsten vs gold
| Cube size | Tungsten | Gold | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1″ | 316 g | 317 g | −0 g |
| 1.5″ | 1.07 kg | 1.07 kg | −1 g |
| 2″ | 2.53 kg | 2.53 kg | −3 g |
| 3″ | 8.54 kg | 8.55 kg | −9 g |
The counterfeiting problem
Density is the classic non-destructive test for gold. Weigh a bar, measure its volume, divide. Anything substantially lighter than 19.3 g/cm³ is not gold, and for most of history that test was sufficient, because nothing cheap came close.
Tungsten breaks the test. It is the only readily available metal that matches gold's density closely enough to pass a scale, and it costs on the order of one percent as much per kilogram. Tungsten-cored bars plated in gold are a documented and recurring problem in bullion markets, which is why serious dealers now use ultrasound or conductivity testing rather than a scale alone.
We mention this because it is the clearest possible demonstration of what you are holding. A tungsten cube is not an approximation of the sensation of solid gold. Within the limits of human perception it is that sensation.
Where they differ
Everything except density. Gold is soft enough to mark with a fingernail, chemically inert, and melts at 1,064°C. Tungsten is brutally hard, melts at 3,422°C, and is difficult enough to machine that cutting it to tight tolerances requires tooling most shops do not own.
Gold is yellow. Tungsten is a cool steel grey. Nobody is confusing them by eye.
The practical comparison
A 1.5-inch gold cube would weigh 1.068 kg. At any realistic gold price that is a six-figure object you would keep in a safe rather than on a desk.
The same cube in tungsten weighs 1.067 kg and sits on your desk, where people can pick it up.
Common questions
Is tungsten denser than gold?
Very slightly less. Tungsten is 19.3 g/cm³ and gold is 19.32 g/cm³. The difference is about one tenth of one percent, far below what a person can feel by hand.
Can tungsten be used to fake gold?
Yes, and it has been. Tungsten is the only cheap metal close enough in density to pass a weight-and-volume test for gold, which is why bullion dealers use ultrasound or conductivity testing rather than density alone.
Does a tungsten cube feel like a gold cube?
Effectively identical. At a density difference of one tenth of one percent, the two are indistinguishable by hand at any cube size a person would hold.
Next
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