Facts about Silver
Notably, silver was believed to be a repellant against vampires and the "undead" (deceased individuals who behave as if alive).
The Phoenicians used to store water, wine, and vinegar in silver bottles to prevent spoiling.
Today, a variety of silver compounds, or devices to make solutions or colloids containing silver, are sold as remedies for a wide range of diseases.
Culturally, silver has been associated with the Moon and feminine nature, while gold has been associated with the Sun and masculine nature.
Notable "silver rushes" took place in Colorado, Nevada, California, Ontario, and the Kootenay region of British Columbia.
Commercial grade fine silver is at least 99.9 percent pure silver, and purities higher than 99.999 percent are available.
At low concentrations, some silver compounds have been used successfully to prevent infections.
Attempts have been made to construct silver membranes that are only a few monolayers in thickness.
The name silver is derived from the Anglo-Saxon seolfor (compare with Old High German silabar).
The widespread use of silver in medicine went out of fashion with the development of modern antibiotics.
Aside from that, silver was extremely valuable elsewhere, making it a global commodity and triggering a period of inflation in Europe.
Naturally occurring silver is composed of the two stable isotopes, 107Ag and 109Ag, with 107Ag being the more abundant (51.839 percent natural abundance).
Silver ions and compounds have a toxic effect on some bacteria, viruses, algae, and fungi, similar to the toxicity of heavy metals like lead or mercury.
The nitrate and halides of silver are valuable in photography.
The price of silver, however, has gone through dramatic fluctuations.
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, wrote that silver had beneficial healing and anti-disease properties.
Silver (chemical symbol Ag, atomic number 47) is a soft metal with a brilliant white luster that can take a high degree of polish.
Isotopes of silver range in atomic weight from 93.943 atomic mass units (amu) (94Ag) to 123.929 amu (124Ag).
Recently, however, there has been renewed interest in silver as a broad spectrum antimicrobial.
Silver (particularly colloidal silver) and its compounds can be absorbed into the circulatory system and become deposited in various body tissues, leading to a condition called argyria.
According to Eastern European folklore, the silver bullet was equally effective against vampires.
Europeans found huge quantities of silver in the New World, such as in Zacatecas, Mexico and Potosн, Bolivia.
The Rio de la Plata was named after silver, after the Spanish word plata.
Before the advent of antibiotics, silver compounds were used successfully to prevent infection, such as during World War I.
Silver chloride and other silver halides are photosensitive and remarkable for the effect of light upon them.
A range of silver alginate products have been designed to prevent infections as part of wound management procedures, particularly for burn victims.
The largest silver ore deposits in the United States were discovered at the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, in 1859.
Silver plays no known natural biological role in humans, and possible health effects of silver are a subject of dispute.
Silver itself is not toxic, but most silver salts are, and some may be carcinogenic.
Silver also has numerous meta states, with the most stable being 128mAg (t* 418 years), 110mAg (t* 249.79 days), and 107mAg (t* 8.28 days).
Naturally occurring silver is composed of the two stable isotopes, 107Ag and 109Ag, with 107Ag being the more abundant (51.839 percent natural abundance).
Silver is found in native form and in various ores such as argentite (silver sulfide, Ag2S) and horn silver (silver chloride, AgCl).
One of the alchemical symbols for silver is a crescent moon with the concave part on the left (see diagram on the left).
The conquistador Francisco Pizarro was said to have resorted to having his horses shod with silver horseshoes because the metal was relatively abundant.
Oxygen dissolves in silver relatively easily, compared to other gases present in air.
Pure silver also has the highest thermal conductivity, whitest color, highest optical reflectivity (except for being a poor reflector of ultraviolet light), and the lowest contact resistance of any metal.
The Latin name for mercury was hydrargyrum, meaning "watery silver," and the English name was quicksilver.
The principal sources of silver are copper, copper-nickel, gold, lead, and lead-zinc ores obtained from Canada, Mexico, Peru, Australia, and the United States.
The metal mercury was once thought of as a kind of silver, though the two elements are chemically unrelated.
Several cases have been documented in the last few years in the medical literature, including one possible case of coma associated with high intake of silver (see medical references).
Elemental silver is nontoxic, but most silver salts are toxic when ingested at relatively high concentrations.
Of all the metals, silver is the best conductor of heat and electricity known, in fact it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity known for any material. It is strong, malleable and ductile, and can endure extreme temperature ranges. Silver is also able to reflect light very well.
Our name for the element is derived from the Anglo-Saxon for silver, 'seolfor,' which itself comes from ancient Germanic 'silabar.' Silver's chemical symbol, Ag, is an abbreviation of the Latin word for silver, 'argentum.' The Latin word originates from argunas, a Sanskrit word meaning shining.
Silver has also been used to create coins, although today other metals are typically used in its place. Sterling silver, an alloy containing 92.5% silver, is used to make silverware, jewelry and other decorative items. High capacity batteries can be made with silver and zinc and silver and cadmium.
It has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. Silver occurs in pure form, as an alloy with other metals or in minerals. ... The pharmaceutical industry makes use of silver's antibacterial qualities, too.Oct 9, 2013
It is used for jewellery and silver tableware, where appearance is important. Silver is used to make mirrors, as it is the best reflector of visible light known, although it does tarnish with time. It is also used in dental alloys, solder and brazing alloys, electrical contacts and batteries.
Most studies agree gold is overall the more rare of the two metals; however, above ground silver is actually more rare than gold. Estimates report gold is 5-7x more abundant above ground than silver. ... To date, over 1.5 million tonnes of silver have been mined.Feb 24, 2017
Silver is sometimes found in nature as a free metal but also appears with other minerals and deposits of ore like copper, gold, nickel, lead and lead-zinc. Silver is heavily mined around the world with the largest deposits being mined in China, Australia, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Bolivia, Mexico and Chile.
Two much rarer metals often fly under the radar: platinum and its close cousin, palladium. Platinum is much rarer than both gold and silver — so rare, in fact, that all of the platinum ever mined could fit into your living room.
Gold is simply rarer than silver – much rarer – and this imbalance in supply and demand between the two metals makes up most of the difference in their prices. ... Aluminum, for example, is a relatively cheap metal because it is abundant, but it is also a little difficult to extract.
Because of the state's abundant growth of wild sage, the state is known as the "Sagebrush State." Nevada is also called the "Battle Born State" because it became a state in 1864, during the Civil War. The abbreviation for Nevada is NV.
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