From ancient times people know the shiny metalwhite color. Silver (Ag) was widely used as a material for ornaments. Its property to exert a disinfecting effect with might and main was used by craftsmen to make household utensils.
In its pure form, silver is very soft and plasticmaterial. According to the shape of the structure, the crystal lattice of silver has the form of a cube with centered faces. From a gram of this metal, you can pull a two-kilometer thin wire. High density (10.5 g / cm3) allows silver to compete with lead by weight. But for such qualities as electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, silver has no competitors. A silver spoon in a glass of boiling water heats up with incredible speed, and the use of silver parts (conductors, contacts, terminals) in the design of various radio devices attests to their high quality and extraordinary technical characteristics.
The melting point of silver at 962 ° C facilitatesprocess of its processing. Alloys of silver with various metals have found wide application in various fields. A small admixture of copper in its composition makes the metal harder, more acceptable for the manufacture of a variety of products.
The melting point of silver does not matteronly in the process of its use, but also extraction. In addition, for this metal, along with melting from ore, there are a number of chemical mining methods, such as cyanidation and amalgamation.
Virtually no oxidation in air, silvercan dissolve large volumes of this gas. Even in the solid state, it, heated to 450 ° C, has the ability to absorb an oxygen volume that is five times its size. For silver in the liquid state, this figure increases to 20 volumes. Knowing at what temperature silver is melting, it is easy to reproduce in a laboratory environment a beautiful but dangerous experience. Cooling substance suddenly begins to behave unusually. The liberated oxygen breaks the crust on the solidifying surface of silver with great force, producing the effect of spontaneous spraying.
Initially, this metal had value as a materialfor jewelry. Attractive appearance, ease of processing, extraordinary plasticity and low melting point of silver, along with its healing properties, created products from this metal for the image of jewelry for health. Modern jewelers, in addition to combining silver with precious stones, have learned to make gold tapes on its surface. The technology of this process takes into account at what temperature the gold melts (1064 ° C), and at which silver (962 ° C). Using a rare combination, jewelry masters managed to achieve high quality products at a lower cost price.
The use of this metal in engineering is basedon other, no less attractive properties than plasticity and a relatively small melting temperature of silver. At the dawn of the development of electronics, technical silver was actively used in various radio components. As a rule, the quality and reliability of such devices were subject to special requirements. Recently there has been a significant replacement of silver by using new materials.
For silver, there was work in the film and photo industries. The first iconoscope - the transmitting tube in television - also did not work without the use of silver.
Widespread use in modern household appliancesSilver finds not as an excellent conductor of electric current, but as a substance with a unique disinfecting action. Various filters, parts for medical equipment, washing machines and refrigerators are manufactured using silver-containing compounds. With this technological solution, the ions of matter work, carrying out their antiseptic activity.
Silver due to its unique propertieswidely used in various branches of human life. Starting its history with jewelry, it was in the complex technical devices visited in space. Became a participant in scientific and technological progress, finding its use in a variety of radio engineering products. Made me cry and laugh at the audience of theaters and the first viewers. Finally, it has found application in household appliances as a powerful means of cleaning and disinfection.
