Specifications: Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol "Ag" and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. It occurs as a free metal (native silver) as well as in various minerals, such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc mining. Silver has been known since antiquity, and it is used as a currency metal. It has long been valued as a precious metal used in ornaments and jewellery and in high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term "silverware"). Today, it is used in photographic film, electrical contacts and conductors, and mirrors. Elemental silver is also used to catalyze chemical reactions. Silver is antimicrobial, and dilute solutions of silver nitrate and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants. Although silver has largely been supplanted by other treatments, the antiseptic properties of silver are still a useful tool in the prevention and treatment of sepsis and infections caused by antibiotic-resistant microorganisms such as MRSA.
