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And the gold plates:
The “Golden” Plates
According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon was engraved on a stack of plates six inches wide, six inches thick, and eight inches long that had the “appearance of gold.”12 Many critics claim that gold plates of that dimension would weigh about 200 pounds—too heavy for Joseph to carry while running from his enemies.13 Those who handled the Book of Mormon, however, claim that the plates only weighed around 50 to 60 pounds.14
While a solid block of gold might weigh 200 pounds, unevenly hammered sheets of gold within the volume described by Joseph might only weigh 100 pounds. This is still much heavier than several Book of Mormon witnesses claimed Turning to the New World we find that the ancient inhabitants did indeed make engravings upon a metal which was lighter than gold but had the “appearance of gold.”
A 1984 article in Scientific America addressed the recent discovery of several large metal objects in South America. Most of these objects were made out of hammered sheet copper. When these copper sheets were first unearthed they were covered with a green corrosion. Once the corrosion was removed, however, they discovered that the copper had originally been covered with a thin layer of silver or gold so that these sheets “appeared to be made entirely out of those precious metals.”
The most important alloy discovered at these sites was a mixture of copper and gold known as “tumbaga.” This alloy has been discovered in ancient Mesoamerican sites at well.16 When copper and gold (the only two colored metals known to man) are melted together they mix, and stay mixed after they cool and solidify. Tumbaga ranged from 97% gold to 97% copper with traces of up to 18% of other metals or impurities. Once the gold finish was applied it would appear that the tumbaga object was made of solid gold. While tumbaga “can be cast, drawn, hammered, gilded, soldered, welded, plated, hardened, annealed, polished, engraved, embossed, and inlaid” it would destroy itself if not stored properly.17 It is therefore interesting to note that the Book of Mormon plates were laid atop two stones that lay across the bottom of the stone box so that the plates would not be exposed to water or dirt.
Too little gold in the Book of Mormon plates would have made them brittle, and too much gold would have made them too heavy as well as increasing the danger of distortion during engraving. If the Book of Mormon plates were made of tumbaga, they were probably between 8 and 12 carat gold and thus would have weighed between 53 and 86 pounds.18 When tumbaga (which is red) is treated with any simple acid—such as citric acid—the copper in the alloy is removed from its surface leaving a brilliant .0006 inch twenty-three karat gilt coating which is easier to engrave (this process was used in ancient America). To the eye, the object would have the appearance of pure gold.19
fairlds.org/FAIR_Brochures/Anachronisms4.pdf
Interesting to read…I think.
The “Golden” Plates
According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon was engraved on a stack of plates six inches wide, six inches thick, and eight inches long that had the “appearance of gold.”12 Many critics claim that gold plates of that dimension would weigh about 200 pounds—too heavy for Joseph to carry while running from his enemies.13 Those who handled the Book of Mormon, however, claim that the plates only weighed around 50 to 60 pounds.14
While a solid block of gold might weigh 200 pounds, unevenly hammered sheets of gold within the volume described by Joseph might only weigh 100 pounds. This is still much heavier than several Book of Mormon witnesses claimed Turning to the New World we find that the ancient inhabitants did indeed make engravings upon a metal which was lighter than gold but had the “appearance of gold.”
A 1984 article in Scientific America addressed the recent discovery of several large metal objects in South America. Most of these objects were made out of hammered sheet copper. When these copper sheets were first unearthed they were covered with a green corrosion. Once the corrosion was removed, however, they discovered that the copper had originally been covered with a thin layer of silver or gold so that these sheets “appeared to be made entirely out of those precious metals.”
The most important alloy discovered at these sites was a mixture of copper and gold known as “tumbaga.” This alloy has been discovered in ancient Mesoamerican sites at well.16 When copper and gold (the only two colored metals known to man) are melted together they mix, and stay mixed after they cool and solidify. Tumbaga ranged from 97% gold to 97% copper with traces of up to 18% of other metals or impurities. Once the gold finish was applied it would appear that the tumbaga object was made of solid gold. While tumbaga “can be cast, drawn, hammered, gilded, soldered, welded, plated, hardened, annealed, polished, engraved, embossed, and inlaid” it would destroy itself if not stored properly.17 It is therefore interesting to note that the Book of Mormon plates were laid atop two stones that lay across the bottom of the stone box so that the plates would not be exposed to water or dirt.
Too little gold in the Book of Mormon plates would have made them brittle, and too much gold would have made them too heavy as well as increasing the danger of distortion during engraving. If the Book of Mormon plates were made of tumbaga, they were probably between 8 and 12 carat gold and thus would have weighed between 53 and 86 pounds.18 When tumbaga (which is red) is treated with any simple acid—such as citric acid—the copper in the alloy is removed from its surface leaving a brilliant .0006 inch twenty-three karat gilt coating which is easier to engrave (this process was used in ancient America). To the eye, the object would have the appearance of pure gold.19
fairlds.org/FAIR_Brochures/Anachronisms4.pdf
Interesting to read…I think.
