It’s too bad silver has been labeled “Poor Man’s Gold,” because it’s far more useful than gold. Not only is silver a precious metal and recognized form of currency, but it’s also an industrial metal, the very definition of conductivity, and essential to the growth of renewable energy. Together, let’s explore the awesomeness that is SILVER.
Did you Know? Silver Edition
- The word silver comes from the Anglo-Saxon word seolfor.
- The chemical symbol for silver, Ag, comes from the Latin word for silver, argentum, which in turn derives from the Sanskit word argunas, which mean shining.
- Silver objects have been found dating back before 4000 BC.
- It is believed that Silver was discovered around 5000 BC.
- In February 2014, archaeologists uncovered a trove of silver, including five hoop earrings, at a 3,200-year-old site in Israel.
- Ancient people refined silver by heated the silver ore and blowing air over it in a process called cupellation.
- This highly valuable metal is slightly harder than gold and has the highest electrical conductivity of any of the metals.
- Silver is exceptionally shiny! It is the most reflective element, which makes it useful in mirrors, telescopes, microscopes and solar cells.
- Polished silver reflects 95% of the visible light spectrum.
- Silver (Ag) has an atomic number of forty-seven.
- Silver was found to be separated from lead by civilizations are early as 3000 BC.
- Silver tarnishes quite readily.
- Silver’s atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 107.8682
- Silver’s Density: 10.501 grams per cubic centimeter
- Silver’s Melting point: 1,763.2 degrees Fahrenheit (961.78 degrees Celsius)
- Silver forms in star explosions called supernovae.
- According to Wounds International, silver has been used to prevent the infection of injuries for hundreds of years.
- There are two natural, stable isotopes of silver, Ag-107 and Ag-109.
- There are twenty-eight known radioactive isotopes of silver.
- Most silver is extracted from copper or lead ores.
- Silver has been coined to use as money since 700 BC.
- The words for ‘silver’ and ‘money’ are the same in fourteen languages or more.
- Around two-thirds of the silver obtained today is a by-product of copper, lead, and zinc mining.
- Mexico, Peru, and China are currently the world’s top producers of silver.
- Coins made of silver are believed by Christians to be the bribe price paid to Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus.
- In several pagan religions, silver was associated with magical powers or feminine energy.
- In folklore, silver is associated with the ability to stop paranormal creatures such as vampires or werewolves.
- The term ‘sterling silver’ in reference to the grade .925 silver emerged in England in the 13th century.
- Silver occurs as a natural alloy with gold that is called electrum.
- Before digital cameras became a rage, 30% of total silver produced was used in photography.
- Silver is germicidal, meaning it kills bacteria and other lower organisms.
- On a scale of 0 to 100, silver ranks 100 in electrical conductivity. Copper ranks 97 and gold ranks 76.
- Only gold is more ductile than silver. An ounce of silver can be drawn into a wire 8,000 feet long.
- The most commonly encountered form of silver is sterling silver, consisting of 92.5% silver, with the balance consists of other metals, usually copper.
- A single grain of silver (~65 mg) can be pressed into a sheet 150 times thinner than the average sheet of paper.
- The lines you see in the rear window of a car consist of silver, used to defrost ice in the winter.
- Coins minted in the United States prior to 1965 consists of about 90% silver. Kennedy half dollars minted in the United States between 1965 to 1969 contained 40% silver.
- The compound silver iodide has been used for cloud seeding, to cause clouds to produce rain and try to control hurricanes.
- In ancient Egypt and Medieval European countries, silver was valued more highly than gold.
- Because silver has antimicrobial properties, nanoparticles of silver can be woven into clothing to prevent bacteria from building up on deposits of sweat and oils.
- According to the Silver Institute, 85% of the silver produced worldwide between 1500 and 1800 came from Bolivia, Peru and Mexico.
- Silver played a big role in making early photography possible.
- The Muslim holy man, Muhammad, is said to have worn a silver signet ring, making silver jewellery one of the few accepted forms of ornamentation for men of the Islamic faith.
- The first huge silver strike in the United States was Nevada’s Comstock Lode, first discovered in 1857 by two brothers who died before they could reap the benefits of their claim. According to Online Nevada, $305,779,612.48 of silver was pulled from the ground between 1859 and 1992.
- The book of Genesis describes silver as already being used by early people and countless other biblical and historical references point to trading being handled with silver as the currency from the fourth millennium B.C.
- The Ancient Greek and Roman people used silver to prevent infection and the stability of the Roman economy was dependent upon the supplies of silver that were mined at a rate of about 200 tonnes per year, creating a Roman silver supply of nearly 10,000 tonnes in the 2nd century A.D.
- During the Middle Ages, the antibacterial properties of silver were used to disinfect water supplies and protect food supplies during long term storage.
- By the 19th century, sailors had discovered that placing silver coins into the barrels of water and wine they carried would keep these perishable commodities pure from contamination by bacteria.
- In 1920, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) approved silver solutions as food safe antibacterial agents.
- The element Silver is classified as a “Transition Metal”, located in Groups 3 – 12 of the Periodic Table.
- The transitional lenses in your eye glasses are made with silver halide. These lenses can change light transmission from 96% to 22% in less than one minute and they effectively block 97% of the damaging ultraviolet rays from sunlight. This changes can be reversed over and over again.
- Silver is used to represent the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
- Known as “the poor mans gold”, silver is more affordable and useful in smaller units, as real money, than gold.
- Silver has had more patents issued with its use than all other metals combined.
- Silver has replaced lead in solder for both Europe and the U.S.
- Most industrially used silver is used and effectively destroyed because it is not recovered and ends up in landfills….Permanently lost.
- Silver is used to manufacture crystalline solar photovoltaic panels and plasmonic solar cells.
- In United States, an alloy can only be called silver if it has at least 90% silver.