9 Silver Uses : Facts You Should Know !

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Silver is an important transition metal which is used in various fields. Let us explore silver with all other related facts.

  • Silver is a white colored soft metal which has lustrous appearance. Its chemical symbol is Ag and atomic number is 47.
  • Silver has a face centred crystal lattice with diamagnetic nature. Due to high thermal and electrical conductivity it has different applications .

Silver is used for making mirrors, jewelleries and silver tablewares. Let us discuss about types of silver with its uses in following sections.

German silver uses

German silver is also called nickel silver or nickel brass and new silver. Copper(60%) alloyed with nickel(20%) and zinc(20%) constitute german silver. It is very hard in nature. The following are its various uses.

  • German silver has silvery like appearance makes them to be used as a substitute for silver.
  • German silver is used for making silver plated utensils since it is cheaper and durable.
  • German silver is used for making jewellery, musical instruments, making coins and automobile industry.
  • German silver has high resistance power enables it to be used in heating coil production.
  • German silver is corrosion resistive so it can be used marine and plumbing fittings.
  • German silver is used for making certain arts because it will withstand at very high temperature.

Sterling silver uses

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver and copper. Actually pure silver is alloyed with copper to make it harder. The strength and malleability of sterling silver is high as compared with fine silver. It is mixed with Ge, Si, Zn, Pt and B to avoid it’s tarnishing nature. The given below are its uses.

  • Sterling silver is used for making cooking utensils like forks, spoons, knives, tea sets water pots etc.
  • Sterling silver is used in industries to make paper clips, mirrors, perfume bottles and hair clips.
  • Sterling silver is used for making jewellery like rings, earrings necklaces and also for musical instruments.

Conclusion

Silver is a precious metal in the group 11 and period 5 of periodic table. In this article we discussed about German silver and sterling silver is discussed with its important applications.