How many electrons does gold have?

Gold normally has 79 electrons. Unless it has been ionized, the number of electrons in an atom is the same as its number of protons. This is expressed as the element's atomic number, which, for gold, is 79.

Atoms of gold always have 79 protons; if they lose or gain protons through nuclear reactions, they cease to be gold. Many elements can occur as different isotopes, with varying numbers of neutrons, but gold only has one stable isotope, gold 197, which holds 79 protons, 79 electrons and 118 neutrons. Gold is in group 11 of the periodic table, below copper and silver.