Find the 'secret' of silver metal

Silver is precious metal just behind gold. In addition to the sparkling beauty, it also has secret "powers" not everyone knows.

Sparkling number 1

Silver is a white, soft transition metal, high thermal and electrical conductivity.

Silver metal is present in nature in its pure form as native silver and in the form of alloy with gold, copper . Silver also appears in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrit. Of the three types, silver is most commonly found in alloy form, usually containing about 92.5% silver.

Argentite minerals contain silver - (Photo: Mineralienatlas).

Extremely sparkling silver, the most powerful element of light reflection: reflects 95% of visible light. However, silver does not reflect well with radiation outside the ultraviolet region.

The chemical symbol of silver, Ag, comes from a Latin word argentum which means light.

"Champion" leads electricity and heat

Silver conductor - (Photo: Bukalapak).

Silver has the best electrical conductivity in metals, followed by copper, gold, aluminum, sodium, wolfram . but due to its high cost, silver is not widely used as copper wire as copper.

Silver is often used as a standard to compare the conductivity of metals. In coal point 100 in the "challenge" leads, silver reaches 100 points, copper 97 points and 76 points gold.

Silver is also the champion that holds the record for the highest thermal conductivity of all metals.

From small-size star explosions

Is silver present on Earth from small star explosions - (Photo: scientias.nl).

Where does silver come from Earth? Like gold, scientists think silver atoms come to Earth from stellar explosions from early times.

In a study published in December in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, scientists believe that small exploding stars will bring silver to Earth, whereas larger stars will offer our planet yellow death.

1 in 5 metal first

Collection of Russian duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) - (Photo: Shakko).

Silver is present from ancient times, being one of the first five metals discovered, in order of copper, lead, gold, silver, and iron.

Many scientists believe that silver was discovered about 5,000 years BC, after 1,000 years compared to gold, 2,000 years with lead, 4,000 with gold.

Silver objects were found about 4,000 BC and 3,000 years ago, people knew how to separate silver and lead from minerals.

In February 2014, scientists found silver treasures, including five earrings about 3,200 years old in Abel Beth Maacah, Israel - (Photo: Robert Mullins).

Silver has been on the earth for a long time, but when Europeans arrived in the Americas in the 15th century, the Spaniards found this land extremely rich in silver. They exploit and exploit to bring to Europe.

According to the Silver Research Institute, between 1500 and 1800 about 85% of silver worldwide is from Bolivia, Peru and Mexico.

"Money"

Silver is a sparkling metal both literally and figuratively - (Photo: Seeking Alpha).

Silver was used by Lydia people to cast coins from 700 BC in the form of gold and silver alloys.

Then, silver is purified and cast in pure form.

Before 1965, the US silver coins accounted for 90% of silver, but then in the years 1965-1969 only accounted for 40%.

The US dollar in 1965 was only 40% silver - (Photo: USA Coin Book).

Silver is used for thousands of years for decoration and as household appliances, for trading and as a basis for many monetary systems. For a long time silver was considered the second precious metal after gold.

In Western legends, silver can be used to chase evil spirits like vampires or werewolves.

81% of silver exploited since 1900

A silver mining worker - (Photo: Thinkstock).

The world's main silver supply is now in the Americas. Mexico is the world's leading silver producer with about 5,600 tons in 2017, followed by Peru and China.

Peru is the country with the largest silver reserves in the world. Interestingly, only about 30% of silver production comes directly from silver mines, while 70% is a by-product of copper, lead or zinc mining.

Today silver prices are much lower than gold prices, about 1/58, but in ancient times in Egypt or in medieval Europe, silver has a higher price than gold.

A person selling jewelry silver in Cairo, Egypt - (Photo: REUTERS).

Silver is often used to make money, make jewelry, mirror mirrors, wash films, make musical instruments, apply in dentistry . The amount of silver exploited from 1900 up to now accounts for 81% of the exploited silver during the past 500 years.

Of which 60% of silver is used in industry, especially in the electricity industry. Silver plating is used to increase the electrical conductivity of some types of wires.

High antiseptic

Because of its high antiseptic properties, nano silver is used in many everyday objects - (Photo: Friends of the Earth).

Silver is not toxic to humans but most silver salts are toxic.

Silver is antiseptic, can help kill some harmful bacteria.

According to Wounds International, silver was used to prevent infection from wounds hundreds of years ago. Silver ions in water can destroy 260 types of bacteria, bacteria, fungi . with a concentration of only 0.1-0.01mg / l.

Today, burn victims often apply cream with silver sulfadiazine . Some hospitals also use nano-silver clothes for patients with skin lesions to control bacteria.

The trend of surgeons' gowns is now a reusable type of nano-silver - (Photo: Bryce Richter).

The bactericidal mechanism of silver is safer for human health than antibiotics. Antibiotics can kill bacteria, including beneficial bacteria that lead to abuse of antibiotics, causing antibiotic resistance, weakening resistance.

Meanwhile, silver kill bacteria in a selective way. In the form of dissolved ions, silver makes bacterial cell membranes more permeable, hindering cell metabolism and inhibiting bacterial activity.