Gold mirrors appear yellow because relativistic effects alter electronic transitions absorbing blue light.
Relativistic effects significantly contract and stabilize gold's atomic orbitals, altering its electronic transitions so that it absorbs blue light and imparts its characteristic yellow appearance.
The retrieved papers consistently support the well-established chemical consensus that relativistic effects govern gold's optical properties and color by shifting interband transitions and absorption spectra.
Peter Schwerdtfeger. Relativistic effects in properties of gold. 2002. https://doi.org/10.1002/hc.10093
Discusses the historical recognition that unusual chemical and physical properties of gold (the gold anomaly) stem from special relativity.
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K. Glantschnig, C. Ambrosch-Draxl. Relativistic effects on the linear optical properties of Au, Pt, Pb and W. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/12/10/103048
Demonstrates through first-principles calculations that relativistic terms are crucially important for explaining the absorption behavior and color of gold.
Romaniello, D. Boeij. The role of relativity in the optical response of gold within the time-dependent current-density-functional theory.. 2005. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1884985
Shows that relativistic effects shift the onset of interband transitions in gold, strongly influencing its color.
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