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Silver
Uses in the 21st Century
For
those of us in the jewelry industry, mention the word silver
and visions of earrings and rings dance in our heads. If asked
to come up with other uses for silver, we might stretch our
minds and throw out suggestions of the silverware found on
the table at Thanksgiving Dinner, or as a backing for old-fashioned
mirrors. These would be accurate portrayals, but they might
elicit a snide remark from someone more familiar with the
myriad uses for this magical metal.
Though
the jewelry industry does consume a fair amount of silver
(247.5 million ounces in 2004, according to the Silver
Institute), it is actually a distant second to the industrial
sector which used 367.1 million ounces in the same period.
Silver has several properties beyond its brilliance and workability,
that make it popular for a wide variety of uses. For example,
silver is heavily used in photography as the active ingredient
in film. Further, it is also used in both medical and industrial
X-Ray films (heavy industry uses X-ray imaging to check the
integrity of welds, solders and structural elements).
While
on the topic of soldering, silver is used all over the world
as a major component in solders. This is especially true with
plumbing solders. Because silver is also a bactericide, it
not only serves to seal the pipes in most homes in the US
(without the use of lead), but also helps keep the water flowing
through the pipes free from harmful bacteria. And with regard
to pure water, about half off all the water purifiers sold
use silver in conjunction with carbon in filters to kill any
small nasties that might otherwise make it through the tap
and into your gut!
With
regard to guts and to the human body in general, silver has
many uses in the medical world. Its bactericidal qualities
have been known for centuries. Silver sulfadiazine is used
in hospitals all over North America as a germ killer on burn
patients. Siilver is also used in one brand of polyurethane
catheters for prevention of infection (too much information?).
In fact,
you would not be reading this article were it not for silver.
The tech industry uses silver in the solders on that printed
circuit board in your computer. Your circuit board also uses
silver in the connections of paths for electronic circuitry.
Daily life relies on silver: the light switches in your house,
your TV and microwave (your washing machine, if average, has
16 silver switches in it), your mobile phone, the pump in
your swimming pool or jacuzzi, and even those lines that defog
the back window of your car (fired silver-ceramic). There
is no escaping this vital metal.
By now
you probably get the picture, but just to really make sure,
here are some other ways that our life here on Earth (and
beyond) has come to rely on silver and its unique properties.
Silver
is:
--A catalyst used in chemical reactions like the production
of plastics.
--Heavily used in the minting of commemorative coins for investment
purposes.
--A main ingredient in billions of watch batteries around
the world.
--Used in the "silver paste" found in over 90% of all photo-voltaic
(solar electric) cells.
--Applied to double-paned windows as a thin film for increased
energy efficiency.
--Used as an industrial coating for ball bearings in everything
from electric motors to jet engines.
(This
article written by Mike McGinnis and published originally
on indiasilver.com.
We allow republication provided the piece is copied in its
entirety with links and attribution.)
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