SILVER (AG)

last update 01 oct 08

* Silver is a member of the transition metals family:

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   SILVER / Ag / 47

   A soft, silvery (of course), lustrous, malleable, ductile metal
   with good resistance to corrosion.  Its symbol Ag comes from the
   Latin name for the metal, "argentum".  Two isotopes are found in
   nature, both of them stable:  Ag<107/47> (52%) and Ag<109/47>.

     atomic weight:       107.8682
     abundance:           66th
     density:             10.5 g/cc
     melting point:       962 C
     boiling point:       2,212 C
     valence:             1 2
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Silver is produced at a level of a few tens of thousands of tonnes a year. It is heavily used in jewelry and cutlery, and silver salts are the basis of film photography -- though this use is dwindling as the bulk of cameras go digital. It is also used for electrical contacts, in dental alloys, and in certain types of "button" electrical batteries.