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Properties of Pure Silver

As lovely as pure silver might sound, you won't see it on a retail display. Decorative items such as jewelry and coins generally use silver in partial form, using instead Sterling silver consisting of only 92.5 percent pure silver. Instead, the properties of pure silver make this precious mineral highly useful for operating everyday household appliances and automobiles inconspicuous to the everyday observer. Certain silver-based industries rely on pure silver to manufacture items that aid in the function of day-to-day items.

White Metallic Luster
- Pure silver's white metallic luster gives it a very shiny appearance. Because of silver's natural luster, it's made into jewelry, coins, silverware, and other tabletop items such as teapots and sugar bowls. However, pure silver is too soft to use for these objects, so silversmiths alloy the mineral with copper to harden it, creating Sterling silver. From the 14th century until now, manufacturers continue to use Sterling silver to create silver jewelry and other decorative items.
Highly Reflective
- When polished, pure silver produces mirror-like reflectivity. So it comes at no surprise that the mirror and window pane industries use silver to produce silver mirrors and window coatings. Window pane coatings are also called invisible silver and deflect up to 95 percent of sunlight away from windows while insulating and reflecting internal heat within the home. Additionally, the silver-based photography industry utilizes pure silver's highly reflective quality by reflecting light off of silver-based crystals to produce images from film onto silver-embedded photo paper.
Conductivity
- Pure silver conducts heat and electricity better than any other mineral. The electrical wiring industry utilizes silver's conductivity by manufacturing silver-coated contacts that transmit electricity from a general power source to a lower-level power source. In the case of an automobile, silver contacts relay power from the main power source, the battery, and transmits this power to other automobile functions like operating car windows and headlights. Because of silver's high level of conductivity, it aids the flow of electricity in numerous household items like computer keyboards, telephones, microwave ovens and light switches.
Malleability
- Pure silver's malleability renders it unusable for decorative items such as jewelry. On the other hand, because it is so soft, pure silver creates high-quality solder to bind and seal metals used to make pipes, faucets and refrigerators. When silver is heated above 600 degrees Celsius, the process is called brazing; below 600 degrees, it's called soldering. Utilizing this bonding property, silver also secures airport electron power tubes, whose function is to warn pilots of inclement weather.
Antibacterial Agent
- When silver mixes with oxygen, it reacts as an antibacterial agent, helping to heal wounds and promotes new cell growth in the event of severe burns. Certain bandages and wound dressings also contain silver. These bandages release silver ions that prevent bacteria from reaching the infected area. In addition to medical uses, certain water purification systems use silver to effectively purify water by countering the buildup of bacteria and algae in the water filter. In much the same way, silver can also replace chlorine as a way to sanitize swimming pools.

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