Which is better A copper wire or a silver wire?

Question

For a nine volt battery 1 LED and 8 made switchs and a motor

Answer 1

Silver is a better conductor, but copper is cheaper and more durable under most common circumstances.

edit: had to reiterate because people who don't actually know, and make assumptions, or were taught the wrong thing are answering incorrectly. I wish people wouldn't type out an answer if they don't actually know for sure -- or at the very least, have a disclaimer that they may not know or that it's opinion. Not just here, but all over Yahoo Answers and elsewhere. Fight the wrongness!

Silver has the highest thermal AND electrical conductivity of any metal. Then comes copper and then gold (gold, being the LOWEST of the 3... not the highest).

Copper is an excellent material because it is durable, flexible, and resists corrosion. It is also far less expensive than both gold and silver. For use as an electric conductor of distance, copper is almost always a clear choice, but on a tiny printed circuit, pure silver is preferable due to its lower melting point and higher conductivity.

Answer 2

Hiamp should take his own advice. Copper is not the clear choice for distance that he said. Most power lines are aluminum, not copper. Yes, it is not as good a conductor, so the wires are bigger diameter than an equivalent copper. However, even at that bigger diameter, the aluminum is both cheaper and lighter weight than the copper. For overhead lines, a steel core is used in the cable for strength.

For your project, where will you buy silver wire? While silver is the best conductor, I've never heard of it's use as a wire.

Answer 3

it really depends on what you are using this wire for. Silver is a better conductor but it corrodes more easily and it's more expensive. In MOST cases the difference in conductivity between Cu and Ag isn't significant enough to justify using Ag when Cu is so much more affordable.

Answer 4

Copper is a better conductor,more flexible and cheaper.Best conductor is Gold.

Answer 5

if u want it based on conductivity then silver is better than copper. but silver costlier than copper. so v use copper to be economical.

Answer 6

thickchick is right - what do you want to do with it? If its electronic in nature, copper is better. Better conductivity and cheaper.

Answer 7

What are you useing the wire for?

Answer 8

It's according to what the use is for.