20 Amazing Facts About Silver You Wouldnt Know About - Aura Jewels

Silver is a very versatile and valuable precious metal that is used in a variety of applications. You may know that silver is most commonly used in jewellery, coins, and a number of gifting articles of silverware. But, do you know that silver has many other applications in the fields of medicine and photography too!? If not, you definitely do not much more than what a normal person would know. This is why we have brought forward a list of some of the most fascinating facts about silver, which you may have not yet learnt about. So, if the appearance and shine of silver fascinates you enough, these amazing facts are going to add to that fascination for sure:

1. Silver was discovered even thousands of years before 4000 BC, which was the time when silver objects were first found. It was one of the first five elements discovered, along with gold, lead, copper, and iron; and has been mined for over 6000 years now.
2. Chunks of pure silver can be found in nature, in other metals and materials like gold, copper, lead, zinc, and argentite. In the early 1900s, silver was found in sized as big as stove lids and cannon balls in Northern Ontario, Canada. Today, Mexico and Peru have the world’s largest amounts of silver, with other countries lining behind, including US, Australia, and Russia.
3. Silver jewellery was, by ancient civilizations, believed to be associated with good fortune and healing powers, which warded off evil spirits.
4. Silver is one of the most malleable metals; with an ounce of silver having the capability to be moulded into a wire that is 8000 feet long!
5. Silver kills bacteria, which means it is not toxic, but rather friendly to humans. This is why silver bottles were used by the Phoenicians to store water, vinegar, and wine, to avoid contamination of the liquids by bacteria.
6. Silver reflects 95% of the visible light spectrum, making it the most reflective element known. Mirrors are backed with silver due to its amazing reflective quality.
7. Silver remains stable in oxygen and water, but it tarnishes when exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air containing sulphur, due to a reaction with sulphur compounds that causes a black sulphide layer.
8. When there was a need to control hurricanes, silver iodide was used to make the clouds produce rain.
9. Silver, when processed, may sometimes form a powerful explosive known as silver fulminate.
10. India’s food like sweets and paan is sometimes decorated with a thin layer of silver, which is known as ‘varak’.
11. Silver is the best electric conductor, which is known to score 100% conductivity, with the next closes element being copper at 97%. It is also the best thermal conductor of any metal, but it has the lowest contact resistance.
12. Silver’s melting point is 961.78°C, and its boiling point is 2162°C. It has a density of 10.5 gm/cm3. The E number of silver, when used as a food additive or colouring, is E174.
13. Silver may be used as an alternative medicine to treat colds and flu viruses, as well as lung infections and sinus. Silver compounds can be absorbed into the circulatory system, and reduced silver can be deposited into various body tissues. They were also used to prevent infection that spread in war zones during World War I.
14. Silver is less worthy than gold, but its value keeps changing regularly as per supply and demand. In fact, silver is termed as “the poor man’s gold” throughout history.
15. Fine silver is 99.9% pure, but is too soft to be used for general use like in jewellery or silverware, which is why another strong element is combined with it.
16. Sterling silver is the most common type of silver, which is used to make jewellery. It comprises of 92.5% pure silver, with the other 7.5% being made up of other precious materials, only to maintain its sturdiness while crafting jewellery and other items.
17. Britannia silver, comprising of 95.8% silver and 4.2% copper, may also be used for jewellery and silverware; but it is very rare. Mexican silver is another rare type of silver used, which comprises of 95% silver and 5% copper.
18. Never mistake alpaca silver to be a type of silver. It is in fact an alloy of non-precious metals that have properties similar to stainless steel.
19. Silver nitrate is used to make the celluloid film sensitive to light, making it possible to create a photograph. In fact, 9000 metric tons of silver us used by the photography industry every year, which is almost half of the total silver mined annually!
20. Around 20 billion ounces of silver is currently in use in the world today to make jewellery, coins, and other silverware! oin the silver league and have the best silver jewellery in Bangalore crafted for you, or the most beautiful silver articles made for your loved one from Aura Jewels, the leader in jewellery making of all types.

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