Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

The Ring of Truth: Molten gold transforms into gold leaf

Watch more with these video collections:

Watch molten gold transform into gold leaf as it is beaten into thinner and thinner pieces while cold. This updated clip is from PBS’ six-part miniseries The Ring of Truth: An Inquiry Into How We Know What We Know – Atoms (1987). 

“It was the craftsmen who mastered the remarkable properties that go with specific materials. They were the first to journey towards the atom. The goldsmiths slowly refined their craft to take advantage of what gold alone could do…”

gold ribbon
MIT astrophysicist and Institute Professor Philip Morrison narrated the series, which he co-wrote with his wife, noted art and science educator Phylis Morrison. Philip Morrison also narrated and wrote the script for Charles and Ray Eames’ Powers of Ten, a must-watch video for all ages.

gold leaf in the making
Watch this next: How Kanazawa gold leaf is made.

Plus, from The Ring of Truth: Noodles & the principle of halving and Two Hydrogen Atoms & One Oxygen Atom.

via Emily Lakdawalla.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition Tong Making Class

Rion Nakaya

Where did all the gold in the universe come from?

Rion Nakaya

Welding in Space

Rion Nakaya

Use a 9-volt battery to break water into its elemental components

Rion Nakaya

Tom Lehrer performs The Elements song live (1967)

Rion Nakaya

To the Scientists of the Future: Materials science with EUPHRATES

Rion Nakaya

Theodore Gray’s Periodic Table Table: A rare collection of elements

Rion Nakaya

The Story Of King Midas, a stop-motion classic by Ray Harryhausen (1953)

Rion Nakaya

The Ring of Truth: Two Hydrogen Atoms & One Oxygen Atom

Rion Nakaya