Silver - A Bright Metal
Today, women are seen wearing silver chains, silver pendants and silver earrings in the parties. Silver has become the trendy metal these days.
Silver has been widely used since the time immemorial. It is used in various forms like utensils, jewellery and currency. It is a soft lustrous metal which has its own look and shine which is widely admired by its users. Silver is a chemical element with a high electrical and thermal conductivity.
History and Discovery
The discovery of silver was done after the discovery of copper and gold in around 4000BC. At that time, silver was popularly used in making jewelry and also as a means of exchange.
Silver is commonly found in nature in a mixed state along with copper and lead. The Spanish people claim the discovery of silver mines in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia. By the 16th century, the South and Central America became the largest silver-producing areas. By 2000 BC, the silver-bearing lead categories were smelted and mined and an impure silver-lead alloy was obtained from the lead ores that were smelted. Later, they were refined by using fire and that process was known as "cupellation". The ancient silver mines were located in Greece at the Laurium lead-silver deposit.
With the advent of time, the "Patio" process was used for the new- world mines recovery. In this process, silver bearing ore was churned and mixed with roasted copper ore, salt and mercury. Therefore, silver was converted to a finely separated state and was finely dissolved by mercury. This was refined repeatedly by the process of cupellation.
In the 19th century, the Cyanidation procedures displaced the Patio process and Thum Balbach and Moebius electro refining procedures were introduced. A huge silver deposit was found in the mid 19th century in Nevada. After that, by the end of the 20th century, the United States emerged as the largest producer of silver in the world.
Properties of Silver
The metal is a soft and mouldable metal that has superb lustre and is slightly harder than gold. Silver is white in colour and has the characteristic of having the highest optical reflectivity. Also, it remains stable in pure water and air. But, when silver is exposed to ozone, sulphur and hydrogen sulphide, it gets tarnished.
Silver jewellery- Girl's Best friend
Silver is widely used in jewellery as a precious metal like in silver earrings, silver chains, silver pendants and silver necklaces. Women also prefer wearing silver earrings that comes in different colours and designs. Various kinds of stones are embellished on silver earrings to give them a graceful look.
With the changing fashion, sterling silver is used massively. As silver is a soft metal, it is prone to damage. For this, 92.5 percent pure silver is mixed with 7.5 percent copper so that it becomes stronger. Also, while some people are allergic to gold or other metals, sterling silver does not have any side-effects on the skin and the body. Silver rings and silver pendants are demanded more by women these days so that their style and status is enhanced in the social gatherings.
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