Fun Facts About Silver

Silver is probably one of the most used metals in the world today. Just like the gold, this precious metal is being adored by almost everyone. Even our ancient ancestors valued silver. Because of its availability and price, many people prefer silver than gold.

Discover Silver Facts

Here are some great silver facts that are fun to know:
“Argentum” is the Latin word origin of silver. Its symbol in the periodic table of elements “Ag” came also from this word. The country Argentina is named after this metal.
Silver coins were used as early as seven hundred BC.
During ancient Egypt and the medieval period in Europe, silver was considered more valuable than gold.
Though there are songs about the silvery moon, there is very little silver, if any, in the moon’s soil.
It has been proven that a small concentration of silver can kill harmful bacteria just like antibiotics.
You can make your own mirror with silver, since this metal can reflect about ninety five percent of visible light. (Aluminum is often used commercially instead — as it tends to be less expensive)
Aside from the Untied States, Mexico, Australia, Peru, Russia, and Canada are the chief producers of silver.
To prevent food from spoiling, the Phoenicians used silver bottles to preserve their foods.
Silver is a great conductor of heat and electricity.
Just like gold, silver is also a soft metal. An ounce of it can produce eight thousand feet of thin wires.
Eggs can tarnish silver very quickly.
You can clean your silver jewelry easily with baking soda, hot water, and aluminum foil.

Sterling Silver

Sterling Silver refers to a mixture of ninety two percent of pure silver and eight percent of other metal—which is copper as the common one. It is commonly used in silver jewelry like silver rings, earrings, and bracelets; and tableware such as spoons, forks, trays, knives, and tea sets. Unlike pure silver, this sterling one can tarnish easily by simply being exposed to oxygen and rubbing against human skin. But now, there are products out in the market that are especially made to bring back the shine of your silver jewelry and tableware. For daily maintenance, you can use cotton cloth to polish it.

Silver History

The history of silver is almost as old as the human civilization began. The Biblical character Joseph is once mentioned in the Bible itself that he is rich in silver, oxen, and gold. And maybe, this kind of metal was already here even before the first organism lived, but it was the Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, South Americans, and Asians of the ancient times who discovered silver.

Properties

The chemical properties of silver are not that active. Basically, it doesn’t react on normal temperature, oxygen and plain water.

Uses of Silver

Here are the other uses of this precious metal:
Silver cadium and silver zinc are types of high quality batteries
A handy weapon against vampires and werewolves.
In just a pound of silver iodide, we can produce plenty cubic miles of clouds.
Silver is also very useful in photographic films, dental materials, water purification and even in explosives.

There you go. It is fun knowing lots of silver trivia when wearing silver jewelry!