The metal with the chemical symbol Au and atomic number 79 is gold.
The symbol Au comes from the Latin word aurum, meaning gold. Gold is a dense, soft, yellow metal valued for its resistance to corrosion and tarnishing. It is one of the few metals that can remain bright in ordinary air and water.
Gold has been used for jewelry, coins, decoration, and ceremonial objects for thousands of years. Its chemical resistance also makes it useful in electronics, where thin gold coatings help electrical contacts remain reliable.
Gold is often confused with pyrite, sometimes called fool’s gold. Pyrite can look similar, but it is an iron sulfide mineral rather than the element gold. Pure gold is very soft, so jewelry is commonly alloyed with metals such as silver or copper.