Silver Uses Are Growing and Thriving
Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine", wrote that silver uses had healing and anti-disease properties. The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians used silver to preserve food and water.
A Persian King, Cyrus the Great, set up one of the first boards of health and only gave water to his patients which had been boiled and then stored in massive silver containers.
In Europe during the "Dark Ages”, silver cups, bowls and utensils were used to help protect the wealthy from the full strength of pandemics.
You've heard the expression "born with a silver spoon in their mouth"? It comes from the “Dark Ages”, when the wealthy gave their children silver spoons to suck on to ward off diseases.
Today, Silver uses are rapidly expanding
and supporting our health.
It is an indispensable metal.
A recent report released from The Silver Institute entitled "The Future of Silver Industrial Demand" estimates that the amount of silver used for industrial purposes is forecast to rise to 665.9 million ounces by 2015, which would be a 36 percent increase from the 487 million used in 2010.
"After testing 23 methods of purifying water, NASA has chosen silver as the purifying agent
on the Space Shuttle program."
-Jim Powell, "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter"; Science Digest, March 1978
The Silver Institute claims that at least half of the demand for silver is industrial with the metal being applied to batteries, brazing and soldering, bearings and electronics. New technologies in solar energy, water purification and medical instruments are expected to keep industrial demand for the metal surging going forward.
The physical properties of Silver:
- most reflective metal on Earth
- most electrically and thermally conductive metal on Earth
- second (to gold) most ductile metal on Earth (ductile means capable of being drawn into thin wires)
- most malleable metal on Earth (malleable means capable of being hammered into thin sheets)
- antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal
- melting point: 961.5°C (1,762°F)
- boiling point: 2,000 to 2,200°C (3,600 to 4,000°F)
- Silver is a rare element (precious metal), in the Earth's crust and its supply is estimated to be 0.1 parts per million.
- It is also found in seawater. Its occurrence there is thought to be about 0.01 parts per million.
Uses of Silver:
- bullion coins, bars and ingots (sound money)
- water filtration and purification
- solar panels
- electrical components in computers, cell phones, ipods, iphones, televisions and wall switches
- cell phone covers to reduce the spread of bacteria
- conductors, circuit breakers and fuses
- bandages for wound care
- wood treatments to resist mold
- woven into athletic clothing to minimize odor
- food cutting boards
- food storage containers
- interior walls of refrigerators
- washing machines
- colloidal silver, a liquid containing silver particles used for medicinal purposes
- catheters and cardiac devices
- bone prostheses, reconstructive orthopaedic surgery and dental fillings
- eye drops to prevent conjunctivitis in newborns
- prescription glasses and sunglasses (silver halide crystals are melted into glass to protect eyes from harmful UV light)
- lasers
- robotics
- satellites and telecommunications
- batteries
- brazing and soldering
- catalytic converters in cars
- inks
- developing photos
- jewelry
- sterling silverware
- silver on glass windows to reflect away heat from the sun
- mirrors
Steel and copper were major metals of the last century.
Silver is an indispensable metal of our times and beyond.
It is a commodity upon which modern and new age life are dependent.
Medical silver uses (Wiki).
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