The electrical conductivity of silver is the highest of all metals, greater even than copper. The thermal conductivity of silver is among the highest of all materials, although the thermal conductivity of carbon (in the diamond allotrope) and superfluid helium-4 are higher.
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Very high electrical and thermal conductivity are common to the elements in group 11, because their single s electron is free and does not interact with the filled d subshell, as such interactions (which occur in the preceding transition metals) lower electron mobility. At wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silver's reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm. Silver has a brilliant, white, metallic luster that can take a high polish, and which is so characteristic that the name of the metal itself has become a colour name. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. Silver crystallizes in a face-centered cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12, where only the single 5s electron is delocalized, similarly to copper and gold. Silver is a relatively soft and extremely ductile and malleable transition metal, though it is slightly less malleable than gold. This distinctive electron configuration, with a single electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell, accounts for many of the singular properties of metallic silver.
Its 47 electrons are arranged in the configuration 4d 105s 1, similarly to copper (3d 104s 1) and gold (4f 145d 106s 1) group 11 is one of the few groups in the d-block which has a completely consistent set of electron configurations. Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two vertical neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table: copper, and gold. Dilute solutions of silver nitrate and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides ( oligodynamic effect), added to bandages, wound-dressings, catheters, and other medical instruments.Ĭharacteristics Silver is extremely ductile, and can be drawn into a wire one atom wide. Its compounds are used in photographic and X-ray film. Other than in currency and as an investment medium ( coins and bullion), silver is used in solar panels, water filtration, jewellery, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term " silverware"), in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings, in catalysis of chemical reactions, as a colorant in stained glass, and in specialized confectionery.
As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had an enduring role in most human cultures. Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes alongside gold: while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a native metal. Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from Latin argentum 'silver', derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ 'shiny, white') and atomic number 47.
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