You are a chemical engineer in a firm that manufactures computer chips. A new accountant, who understands budgets but not chemistry, sends out the following memo:

“Because of the high price of gold, the company should change from gold-plated pins on our computer chips to pins made of copper, which is much cheaper.”

Write a memo to your boss explaining why the accountant’s choice of copper is a poor one and why gold should continue to be used in pin manufacturing.