When we talk about silver we usually think about jewelry,
but there is much more to it, and jewelry isn’t the biggest industry for using
silver. Throughout the years we learned more and more where we can use it, and
now, silver is among the best investments you can make. They were used as a
currency not that long time ago which adds to the value in the future.
It is much cheaper than most precious metals, so you can
easily buy it and save for future inflation. You can mostly find silver bars for sale or coins. Many people
don’t know that silver has antimicrobial properties, but using it for home
remedies isn’t a good idea. In the past, people used it for injuries, and now
we also have silver-antibiotic creams.
Silver Properties
The atomic number of silver is 47 which is the number of
protons in the nucleus and the symbol is Ag. The weight of one atom is around
107.8682 with the density of 10.501g per cubic centimeter. What it makes it different
from other precious metals that we use the most is the temperature of melting.
This is very important for industrial purposes. Silver melts at 1764 degrees
and boils at 3924. The main purpose in the future will be the usage in solar
panels. As technology grows, there will be more panels available and with that
in mind the demand for silver will grow.
Interesting Facts
The symbol of silver which is Ag comes from a Latin word
Argentum which means silver which came from Anglo-Saxon word seolfor. The two
brothers discovered a huge silver load in Nevada’s Comstock in 1857 which was
the first big silver strike in the US. From 1859 when they started to collect
it until 1992 over $305 million worth of silver was pulled from the ground in
Nevada.
From the start, people considered it as very beautiful
metal. At a 3200-year-old site in Israel, archaeologists discovered five hoop
earrings in 2014. Because it has antimicrobial properties there are a variety
of health benefits but there are certain procedures that need to be followed.
It is interesting that drinking it will turn your skin blue.
When we place our silver jewelry at some place and forget
it, we will later notice that it tarnishes. Because there are many historical
coins that need to be saved, museums use transparent lacquer. They are trying
to advance it and make nanometer-thick coating which will last longer and be invisible.
Get more information here: https://www.thoughtco.com/interesting-silver-element-facts-603365
The Knowledge We Have
Today
A very interesting fact is that silver was used to prevent
infections after injuries for many years. It has to be in a special form so it
will kill microbes. The ion form only works against bacteria, to be positively
charged it needs to lose an electron. It disrupts microbial processes and
interferes with bacterial cell walls when positively charged. There are clinics
that use silver-infused dressings for wound care. Many people speculate that
this doesn’t actually speed wound healing, so there is more testing to be done.
Many manufacturers had the idea of using silver
antimicrobial properties to make textiles that have silver in it in order to
stop bacteria from forming in the fabric. The problem according to scientists
is that manufacturers don’t even know how to do this. They will need to have a
certain form of silver in order for it to work. If they don’t manage to get
that certain form, the silver-infused textile will tarnish.
History of Silver
According to archaeologists, there was evidence dating back
to 3000 B.C. of silver mining in Greece and Turkey. That long time ago people
also knew how to refine it. There is a process called cupellation where you
heat the silver ore and low air over it. Silver won’t react, but other metals
like copper and lead oxidize and depart from the silver.
In 1492 when Europeans settled in South America, they
discovered that it was very rich in silver. They immediately started to mint.
People estimate that 85{2572370716b3cd9f8d2de4355b55e967e8893f1cc4791d98e0ef1d7eb7a306ab} of the worldwide silver came from Mexico, Peru, and
Bolivia between 1500 and 1800. Much later, silver had the main role in
producing photography. From the 2003 research, we know that about 1900 metric
tons of silver were used for photography purposes.