The problem is not that either breaks, it is that gold will simply yield (deform permanently) easily. Note that 120 MPa is for volume (cross section), where gold is indeed slightly better (I assumed it would be worse).
However, if you make it thinner than the wood reference, the stress goes up, quickly making it weaker than the wood reference. On a side note, per weight the relevant value is the [en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/specific_strenght](specific strength), where you will find wood way above copper, which is about like gold. Pine wood is even above most alloys because of its low density.
The problem is not that either breaks, it is that gold will simply yield (deform permanently) easily. Note that 120 MPa is for volume (cross section), where gold is indeed slightly better (I assumed it would be worse).
However, if you make it thinner than the wood reference, the stress goes up, quickly making it weaker than the wood reference. On a side note, per weight the relevant value is the [en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/specific_strenght](specific strength), where you will find wood way above copper, which is about like gold. Pine wood is even above most alloys because of its low density.