Silver

This article is about the chemical element. For other uses, see Silver (disambiguation).

Silver, ₄₇Ag

Silver
Appearance	lustrous white metal
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Ag)
	107.8682±0.0002 107.87±0.01 (abridged)
Silver in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson Cu ↑ Ag ↓ Au palladium ← silver → cadmium
Atomic number (Z)	47
Group	group 11
Period	period 5
Block	d-block
Electron configuration	[Kr] 4d10 5s1
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 18, 1
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Melting point	1234.93 K ​(961.78 °C, ​1763.2 °F)
Boiling point	2435 K ​(2162 °C, ​3924 °F)
Density (at 20° C)	10.503 g/cm3
(at STP)	10,515 g/L
when liquid (at m.p.)	9.320 g/cm3
Heat of fusion	11.28 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporisation	254 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	25.350 J/(mol·K)
Specific heat capacity	235.005 J/(kg·K)
Vapour pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 1283 1413 1575 1782 2055 2433
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	common: +1 −2, −1, 0, +2, +3
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 1.93
Ionisation energies	1st: 731.0 kJ/mol 2nd: 2070 kJ/mol 3rd: 3361 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	empirical: 144 pm
Covalent radius	145±5 pm
Van der Waals radius	172 pm
Spectral lines of silver
Other properties
Natural occurrence	primordial
Crystal structure	​face-centred cubic (fcc) (cF4)
Lattice constant	a = 408.60 pm (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion	18.92×10−6/K (at 20 °C)
Thermal conductivity	429 W/(m⋅K)
Thermal diffusivity	174 mm2/s (at 300 K)
Electrical resistivity	15.87 nΩ⋅m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Molar magnetic susceptibility	−19.5×10−6 cm3/mol (296 K)
Young's modulus	83 GPa
Shear modulus	30 GPa
Bulk modulus	100 GPa
Speed of sound thin rod	2680 m/s (at r.t.)
Poisson ratio	0.37
Mohs hardness	2.5
Vickers hardness	251 MPa
Brinell hardness	206–250 MPa
CAS Number	7440-22-4
History
Naming	a non-Indo-European wanderwort
Discovery	before 5000 BC
Symbol	"Ag": from Latin argentum
Isotopes of silver
Main isotopes Decay Isotope abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct 105Ag synth 41.29 d ε 105Pd 106mAg synth 8.28 d ε 106Pd 107Ag 51.8% stable 108mAg synth 439 y ε 108Pd IT 108Ag 109Ag 48.2% stable 110m2Ag synth 249.86 d β− 110Cd 111Ag synth 7.43 d β− 111Cd

Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag (from Latin argentum 'silver') and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and reflectivity of any metal. Silver is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as acanthite, argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is recovered as a byproduct of lead–zinc, copper and gold mining and refining.

Silver has long been valued as a precious metal and coinage metal. It is one of the seven metals of antiquity, and has had an enduring role in monetary systems, jewellery, tableware and decorative arts. Its purity is commonly measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". Because pure silver is relatively soft, silver used in jewellery, coinage and household objects is often alloyed with copper or other metals.

Beyond currency and investment uses such as coins and bullion, silver is an important industrial material. It is used in photovoltaics, electrical contacts and conductors, printed electronics, brazing alloys, catalysis, specialised mirrors and window coatings, and antimicrobial materials. Silver halides are important in photographic film, photographic paper and photochromic glass, although demand for photographic silver has declined with the spread of digital imaging.