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Various uses of silver

roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
I didn't recall many of these. A good refresher on the basics.

Silver Industrial Uses

New uses for Silver are being invented and applied every day. The superior properties of Silver have been apparent in many applications for many years while new technologies are discovering Silver’s superior qualities. Some industrial uses today include:

Batteries:
Both rechargeable and disposable batteries are using Silver today. Silver provides superior power to weight characteristics. By weight Silver makes up 35% of most of these usually small batteries. The Silver produces both higher voltages and a longer life in these types of batteries. Watches, cameras, small electronic devices, power tools, and portable TV cameras are some products which use Silver in their batteries.

Bearings:
Bearings electroplated with Silver provide greater strength and load carrying capacity. Military and heavy duty applications where a no fail system is needed use these bearings. Every time you step on a plane you are holding your life in Silvers hands. Silver coats the bearings in jet engines and provides the lubricity to avoid a catastrophic failure in the event of a lubrication failure.

Brazing and Soldering:
Silver is replacing lead in solders to provide a leak proof and corrosion resistance joint. Air-conditioning, refrigeration, power distribution electrical engineering, automobile and the aerospace industry use Silver brazing and soldering. In plumbing the bactericidal properties of Silver is being touted more every day as a safer way to install plumbing in residential and commercial buildings.
In 2006, 47.7 million ounces of silver were used for brazing and soldering.

Catalysts:
Roughly 700 tonnes of Silver are in continuous use throughout the world’s chemical industry. Silver is essential to producing the two compounds the plastics industry needs to produce flexible plastics and hard plastic; ethylene and formaldehyde. Imagine a world without plastics.
Without Silver this US $300 billion industry would not exist!
Silver is the only catalyst that will oxidize ethylene gas into ethylene oxide and worldwide production exceeds 14 million tonnes a year. Being the building block of polyester textiles used in clothing computers, electronics, domestic appliances and Mylar tape (recording tape). Also, 25% of ethylene oxide production goes to produce antifreeze for our cars.

Coins:
In 2006 39.8 million ounces were produced as Silver coins. Silver has been used as money as far back as 550 B.C. and continues to be sued to this day in some countries including Mexico. Since Silver was more plentiful and of less value than Gold it served as a practical means of exchange. Today most of the Silver produced is consumed in one form or another with only 64 million ounces per year set aside for investment purposes. With such a small amount of produced Silver actually making it to market the price of Silver will see some spectacular gains when even a relatively small amount of Silver is sought for investment.

Electrical:
Silver is the best electrical conductor of any known material and it does not corrode. Silver is used in conductors, switches, contacts and fuses. Silver is used in virtually all electrical appliances. Just the US market for electrical switches is roughly 2.7 billion per year

Photography:
Although the digital age is reducing the amount of silver that is used in photographic purposes it will always remain a part of the demand structure because of its low costs and superior definition qualities. In 2006 approximately 145.8 million ounces of Silver were used in photography.
Silver is also used in x-rays. From humans, animals, steam valves, ships, aircraft or truck axels Silver x-rays remain the surest way to find faults in a structure.

Medical Applications:
While only in the last 200 years has Silver been documented as a bactericide Silver has been used throughout the ages in purification applications. Silver vessels were used to keep water, wine milk and vinegar fresh and pure during long voyages. Babies fed with a Silver spoon when young were even proven to have better health than others.
Silver sulfadiazine is used by hospital for burn victims to prevent bacterial infections. Also surgical gowns and other hospital apparel is incorporating a layer of fabric infused with silver particles to prevent microbial transmissions. Research continues to discover new usues for the biocidal properties of Silver.

Jewellery and Silverware:
Silver is the most reflective metal and enjoys a prominent role in jewellery manufacturing worldwide. Although most Silver needs to be strengthened for use in cutlery bowls and other decorative items then called Sterling Silver (92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper). The demand for Silver in jewellery yearly is 165.8 million ounces and 59.1 million ounces for silverware representing a formidable component of total demand.

Mirrors and Coatings:
Being virtually 100% reflective after polishing Silver is at the forefront of high end mirrors and coatings on glass. When coated on glass Silver will both reflect the suns heat in summer and maintain the heat inside in winter providing substantial cost savings to the user. When used on prescription glasses Silver can reduce UV rays by at least 97%.


Solar Energy:
Silver paste is used in 90% of all crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells which are the most common solar cell. As the use of solar power increases so will the use of Silver. Many buildings now are built with a Silver membrane which acts as a solar cell creating energy and heating or cooling much reducing the utility costs. As this technology is proven over time more and more companies and families will insist on using this type of technology.

Water Purification:
Perhaps the most important use of Silver is that of water purification. Silver works as a bactericide and algaecide. Silver is being used in hospitals homes and remote communities throughout the world in need of clean water. Possibly the most pressing issue of today is clean water and the use of Silver in purifying water may be the solution. Over half of the water purification systems sold in the U.S. every year employs Silver. Silver purifies water of bacteria, chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, particulates and odour. Silver prevents the build-up of algae and bacteria in the filters. New research shows Silver and oxygen catalyze to produce a powerful sanitizer virtually eliminating the need for the use of chlorine.


roadrunner
Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold

Comments

  • mkman123mkman123 Posts: 6,849 ✭✭✭✭
    thanks for the info!! image
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    Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
  • So many uses and yet so cheaply priced.
  • calleochocalleocho Posts: 1,569 ✭✭
    how about platinum?
    "Women should be obscene and not heard. "
    Groucho Marx
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I forgot about the most obvious use: door stop or boat anchor (1000 oz bars).

    Platinum? Don't know as much about it. Generally it's not all that much different from gold-silver-palladium-rhodium, which share many similar properties. But a lot harder to find than the first 2 so hence it's not quite as mainstream. They are all potent door stops!

    roadrunner
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • AgBloxAgBlox Posts: 744 ✭✭
    I Would Love a 100 oz Pt door stop image
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,653 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Silver is a major component of the highest temperature superconductor so
    far invented. They'd only have to get this to about -53 degrees if memory
    serves to open up vast new uses which would require substantially higher
    amounts of silver.
    Tempus fugit.
  • sbeverlysbeverly Posts: 962 ✭✭✭
    I read somewhere that the use of Colloidal Silver is increasing in China for the treatment of Hepatitis.

    It's Silver that is broken down to sub-nanometer particles.

    A product by the name of mesosilver has a particle size of .65nm.
    The company claims that larger particle Colloidal Silver causes Silver looking people because the particle size is to large
    to totally pass through the system. I don't have any personal experience with this.

    Also, (would like to find the source on this)...An appliance manufacturer is allegedly coming out with a clothes dryer
    that is Silver lined. To kill any lingering bacteria.
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  • Also, Iran needs it for thier centrifuges to produce weapons grade plutonium.

    Some of these might soon end up buried under 200 feet of ruble
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