re: #179 ryannon

It’s the most ductile of all metals: you can theoretically hammer it out to a sheet one atom thick.

From a description of the Massachusetts State House dome…

“Gold leaf is just five-millionths of an inch thick — so thin that direct light almost shines through it. It melts when touched; the slightest movement of air will wrinkle it. Despite a canvas scrim draped over the scaffold to cut the wind, a cloud of golden flakes whirled down Beacon Street almost every day until the project was complete. In fact, so much gold leaf blew away that the contractor had to order more in order to complete the project!”