Silver: A Precious Metal With The Highest Thermal And Electrical Conductivity

Due to competing store-of-value and industrial demands, the price of silver has fluctuated significantly during the last century. As of the start of 2010, the price of this treasured metal is estimated at about 18 U.S. dollars per troy ounce (or 588 U.S. dollars per kilogram). In February 2011, silver prices were just over $28 per ounce. This article presents important chemical properties of silver that reveals why silver is in such high demand for industrial applications.

Silver is mostly described as a soft, white, lustrous metallic chemical element. It happens naturally in its pure form, as an alloy with different metallic elements (especially gold), and in chlorargyrite and other minerals. As one of three coinage metals (the other two being copper and gold), silver is very malleable and ductile.

Of the different metals, silver is known to have the best thermal conductivity. Similarly of the different known elements, silver has the very best electrical conductivity. Supplied below are some of the properties of this precious metal.

General:

• Chemical Symbol: Ag

• Atomic Number: 47

• Category (as an element): Transition Metal

• Group/ Period/ Block (in the Periodic Table): 11/ 5/ d

• Atomic Weight: 107.8682 g.mol-1

• Electron Configuration: [Kr] 4d10 5s1

Physical:

• Density (near room temperature): 10.49 g.cm-3

• Liquid Density (at melting point): 9.320 g.cm-3

• Melting Point: 961.78°C, 1234.93°F, 2041.4°K

• Boiling Point: 2162°C, 3924°F, 2435°K

• Heat of Fusion: 11.28 kJ.mol-1

• Heat of Vaporization: 250.58 kJ.mol-1

Atomic:

• Oxidation States: 1, 2, 3

• Electronegativity: 1.93 (Pauling scale)

• Atomic Radius: 144 picometre

• Covalent Radius: 145±5 picometre

• Van der Waals Radius: 172 picometre

• Ionization Energies: 731 kJ.mol-1 (first), 2070 kJ.mol-1 (second), 3361 kJ.mol-1 (third)

The principal sources of silver are copper, lead, zinc and gold ores. It also occurs in the minerals chlorargyrite and argentite. Of course, silver happens natively, too. A few of the top silver-producing countries on the earth are the United States, Canada, Peru, and Mexico. Fine silver, which has at least 99.9% silver, is accessible commercially.

Source by Dr. Bryan Stoker

Silver: A Precious Metal With The Highest Thermal And Electrical Conductivity