The "white" areas in a black and white "positive" print contains..?

Question

silver metal, non slver metal, fixer, or sliver salt

Answer 1

Contains nothing but the white paper. The black to gray areas contain silver metal. The silver is present as black particles rather than the "silver" appearing metal on flatware, jewelrey, and mirror backs. After the black to gray areas are developed by reducing silver compounds to metal, the print is "washed" with sodium thiosulfate, Na2S2O3, to remove excess silver.