Element Silver?

Question

Could you please tell me some important facts and information about the element silver (Ag). Im doing a report and i need some good information. I researched a lot on the web but i couldnt find a site with a lot of good information.

Answer 1

The most important ore mineral of silver is argentite (Ag2S, silver sulfide). Silver was named from the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) word seolfer. Silver has been used for thousands of years for jewelry and decorative items of all types. Likewise, it has been used for silverware. Of all the metals, untarnished silver is the best reflector of light. Also, silver is the best conductor of heat of all elements. And silver is the best conductor of electricity of all elements.

Answer 2

A soft white lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity for a metal. It occurs as a free metal (native silver) as well as various minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc mining.

Silver has been known since antiquity. It has long been valued as a precious metal and used in ornaments and jewelery, as well as utensils (hence the term silverware). It is also used in photographic film, electrical contacts, and mirrors. Elemental silver is also used to catalyze chemical reactions.

Silver has certain antimicrobial activity. In the past, dilute solutions of silver nitrate were used as disinfectants, though this has been supplanted by other treatments.

Silver is a very ductile and malleable (slightly harder than gold) monovalent coinage metal with a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a high degree of polish. It has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals, even higher than copper, but its greater cost and tarnishability has prevented it from being widely used in place of copper for electrical purposes, though it was used in the electromagnets used for enriching uranium during World War II (mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper). Another notable exception is in high-end audio cables, although the actual benefits of its use in this application are questionable.

Among metals, pure silver has the highest thermal conductivity (only the non-metal diamond's is higher), whitest color, the highest optical reflectivity (although aluminium slightly outdoes it in parts of the visible spectrum), and is a poor reflector of ultraviolet light. Silver also has the lowest contact resistance of any metal. Silver halides are photosensitive and are remarkable for the effect of light upon them. This metal is stable in pure air and water, but does tarnish when it is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air containing sulfur.

Answer 3

Did Wikipedia go off the air? Silver (90% pure) used to be in US coins from the dime to the dollar until 1964. The US mint still issues 1 ounce bullion silver coins. Silver currently sells for about $13 per troy ounce. In the 1890s, the US was on the "gold standard", where the amount of gold the government had determined the amount of money issued. Democrats pushed to have silver as a second metal standard, with a value of $16 gold per ounce to $ 1 silver per ounce. This became an important issue in the 1896 campaign, when Bryan was nominated for President after his famous "cross of gold" speech. He lost.