Silver trivia!
Did you know?
- Silver has been used to protect from bacteria and germs since the time of Chinese emperors.
- Silver necklaces were placed around childrens' necks in ancient China in the hope of warding off evil spirits.
- In India, food can be found decorated with a thin layer of silver, known as Varak.
- Silver is thought to be one of the very first metals ever used by the human race.
- Man learned to separate silver from lead as early as 3,000 B.C. Silver has been mined and prized for its beauty and durability for at least 6,000 years.
- Silver is associated with the Moon. In addition Sea Silver has been known since ancient times, it was mentioned in the book of genesis.
- Silver has the most thermal and electrical conductivity of all the metal elements.
- Argentina was named from Argentum, the element of silver's Latin name.
- Silver is the best conductor of electricity of all elements. In fact, silver defines conductivity - all other metals are compared against it.
- Silver is more ductile than any element except gold. One ounce of silver can be drawn into 8,000 feet of thin wire.
- 1,740,000 metric tons of silver has been discovered in the world up to the year 2007.
- Silver has superior bactericidal qualities. Small concentrations of silver or silver salts kill bacteria by chemically affecting the cell membranes, causing them to break down. Bacteria do not develop resistance to silver, as they do to many antibiotics.
- Silver is more malleable than any element except gold. One grain of silver can be made into a sheet one hundred and fifty times thinner than a piece of paper.
- Silver has the highest degree of optical reflectivity of all elements. A silver mirror can reflect about 95% of the visible light spectrum (most mirrors are silver). Besides vanity uses, mirrors are important components in telescopes, microscopes and solar panels.
- Silver is the best conductor of heat of all elements. Its uses in solar panels and automobile rear window defoggers take advantage of this quality.
- Silver is utilized in batteries where dependability is mandatory and weight restrictions apply, such as for portable surgical tools, hearing aids, pacemakers and space travel.
- Silver is not a chemically active metal but if mixed with Hydrogen in air, it will tarnish.
- Before digital photography about 1/3 of the silver produced worldwide was used in photography.
- Silver iodide is often used in cloud seeding. A pound of silver iodide is enough to seed many cubic miles of clouds.
