Where is gold used as a conductor?

Answer 1

Gold is a metal, so it conducts electricity. It conducts better than most, because it has 2 6s-orbital electrons and 9 5d-orbital electrons to contribute to passing electrical current. The electron configuration is similar to copper (Cu), but gold's electrons are in higher shells, further from the nucleus, so they have less electrical attraction to the nucleus and are more easily available to participate in a current flow.

For jewelry, gold is lustrous (sparkly), is soft (or, "malleable", and is very resistant to oxidation (it does not tarnish). It is so soft that it can be hammered into sheets only a few atoms thick and easily sculpted into any shape. It is so soft that to be used in jewelry, it must be made into an alloy with other metals to be hard enough to withstand the daily trauma of being worn as jewelry.

Answer 2

Because gold is highly conductive to electricity, it has been used for electrical wiring in some high energy applications. For example, gold electrical wires were used during some of the Manhattan Project's atomic experiments. Gold is also used to wrap contacting surfaces of many copper connectors because it doesn't corrode like copper.