[rescue] Re: I joined the SGI cult... Zeitnet anyone?

[George Adkins]

> Platinum, when used as a catalyst, has to be hot, very hot, IIRC.
> Perhaps so for gold too.  Platinum and gold are very "unreactive"
> themselves.
>
or very finely powdered, or have an electrical current passed through it,...

the point is not whether the gold reacts with moisture in the air, it's that 
the electrical interaction between dissimilar metals results in the 
dissociation of ions across the gap and accelerated oxidation of *one* (or 
both sometimes) of the surfaces. 

> > Themal changes cause expansion, contraction, motion...
> > Micron by Micron, the Gold is worn away,
>
> Mechanical friction and the resulting wearing are not related to
> chemical reactions and corrosion.  :-)
 Seems pretty related when the chemical reaction causes the abrasive that 
contributes to the abrasion.

Are you going to tell me that brain function and respiration are unrelated 
because one is electrical and the other is mechanical?

Last time I checked, you can't have one without the other (unless of course 
you'd like to cite an example)