Silver

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Silver (symbol Ag) is a soft metal that has been used for many thousands of years by people all over the world, for jewellery, as money, and many other things. It is called a white metal even though it looks grey. The word silver is also used to talk about this colour or shade of grey.

In chemistry, silver is chemical element 47, a transition metal in Group 11. It has an atomic weight of 107.86 a.m.u. Its symbol is Ag, from the Latin word for silver, argentum.

Silver is very malleable, and ductile, which means it can be pulled into wire or hammered into thin sheets. When it is used in money or in jewellery, it is often mixed with gold or some other metal to make it harder. Silver is a good conductor of electricity.

Silver can be found alone. Silver can be found with copper, lead, or gold in rocks. The rocks are found mostly in Canada, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Northern American Countries: Canada and the United States of America. (USA, US, United States) SouthernAmerican Countries: Mexico and Peru. Mexico produces the most silver.

Silver is not a large danger to humans. It can kill bacteria and has other useful properties. Silver, because is depleting, is actually more valuable than gold. The silver saved up in the world is running out very quickly because more of it has been used each year than the amount mined in each year since 1990. Companies that use silver have benefitted from speculators who sell promises to deliver silver that does not exist, keeping prices artificially low. This is called naked short selling. The amount owed is more than all the silver in the world. The price of silver could go very high when the stored silver runs out and investors start asking for their metal back, instead of taking more IOUs.

Silver coins and bars can be bought and sold at coin shops around the world.

Silver is one of the only words in the English language that does not rhyme with any other word.