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Silver
Quality Metal
Silver is a precious metal.
A few hundred years ago, silver was a noble metal which would not tarnish. The black tarnish which forms on silver which hasn't been polished recently is silver sulphide, which is formed because silver purifies the air of industrial effluent. Before the Industrial Revolution, silver didn't tarnish. (Silver does not oxidise to silver oxide in air).
The density of silver (specific gravity) is 10.5 , which means it's heavier than iron , and heavier than copper.
As with gold , the pure metal is soft, so it's usual to have less than 100% of the actual metal in silver objects for practical uses. Silver jewellery is often 92.5% silver, or "925", which is 925 parts per thousand. This standard is known as Sterling Silver.
Metal teapots made of aluminium are questionable. Stainless steel is better. But teapots made of real silver are very good, although they tend to be expensive. Still, they last for centuries and increase in value, so probably not as expensive in terms of ongoing costs. Curiously though, as silver has the highest heat conductivity of any metal, maybe a teapot cosy is recommended. This might cut down the show-off effect, but it keeps the tea warm.
As well as being good to look at, silver has industrial purposes such as switch contacts, because of its exceptionally good electrical conductivity. Some cables are silver, or at least silver plate. Hi-fi perfectionists are fond of these.
Silver bullets are recommended for the shooting of werewolves, but the effectiveness in comparison to ordinary bullets is questionable. However the additional expense may result in better care being taken in the aim.
Micro-organisms find silver to be a toxic heavy metal like lead, cadmium, etc, but humans do not suffer from such toxicity from silver. Silver is a human-friendly metal, and tea tastes good from silver teapots.
Colloidal Silver is an alternative medical therapy which may or may not have efficacy against the ailment of the patient. However, prolonged ingestion of colloidal silver in some forms can result in the person's skin colour changing to an unearthly shade of blue/grey. It's known as Argyria, and this does not go away, so if you're going to go for the colloidal silver, be prepared to be noticed, and be proud to be different! Before deciding to go for the one way step of changing skin colour and being perpetually noticed, go for a Vivid Hair Dye is see how you like being noticed. If you like it, you might also consider having an interesting unnatural skin colour. For more about what this looks like, see a few personal stories such as www.webanstrich.de/rosemary/argyriaphotos.html and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahihGKZC5Kk and www.rosemaryjacobs.com and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2xX5yEWaE etc. If you want to look like the Na'vi in Avatar, or Hindu deities, or Dr Manhattan, you may find the ashen grey of argyria not blue enough, and further research may be required. The first company to find a genuine blue skin colour available as a dietary supplement will have a huge market, as many people would like to turn blue.
And now a long list of references. First, the list of jewellery places. Those marked with "*" are silver specialists...
Spangle *
Je Gem - Artisan silver jewelry
Makoosh *
Palm Beach Jewelry * silver and cubic zirconia
Ortak Jewellery * - silversmiths
Silver Shake * - silver jewelry
Love Hearts Jewellery * - silver
Hot Diamonds - diamonds and silver
* silver specialists
There are other jewellery places which at the time of writing this page about silver, had lost their affiliate program here in one way or another...
Silvertime * silver jewellery specialists
Kyle Lewis * silver jewellery specialists
Gonna Luv It - Sterling silver jewellery at affordable prices
Then there are other Silver outlets which aren't necessarily jewellers...
Collectibles Today - including silverware
The Bespoke Gift Company - including engraved silverware
The Noble Collection - various collectable treasures
Pictures On Gold - and on silver!
GovMint - coins, gold and silver
Titanium Concepts - gold, silver, platinum, as well as titanium
Trophies and Medals - some of these are made of silver
United States of America - The United States dollar was originally defined to be worth 371.25 grains of real Silver
Butlers Bingo - "Butlers Bingo offers 'Online Bingo' on a Silver Platter".
When Worlds Collide - the spacecraft was based on the Silver Bird or Brent Sanger Antipodal Bomber
Plus, the term "Silver", and other silver items...
Silvertap - affiliate marketing company. In my opinion, Tesco weren't fair to Silvertap. See Tesco and Silvertap
Silverlit - models as mentioned at Mini Model Shop
Silver Shake - silver jewelry
Silver Nitrate - chemical reagent used for a variety of purposes
Silver Oxide - used in photography in the age of film before digital cameras. Also, used in batteries. See Brooklyn Battery Works
Experiment involving the density of silver: Density Scales, also mentioned in Zyra's Circular Newsletter 133
SilverJet - airline which could have made a big difference
Silver Wellbeing - slimming
Silverstone - Grand Prix racing circuit
Silver Cross prams - see Baby and Co , Babys Mart , Teeny Tots
Silver sixpence - old British pre-decimalisation coin worth six old pence, or 6/240 of a pound. In those days the money was worth enough to have silver in the coinage.
Silver Machine - space/time travelling machine in a song by Hawkwind
Silver Dream Machine / Silver Dream Racer - 1980 motorcycle movie starring David Essex, who also sang the theme song
Silver Surfer - superhero
Silver Surfers - Internet-savvy old folks
Silver Screen - see movie companies
Silver
paper - aluminium foil
Collecting Silver
Paper for the Blind Dog?! and Guide Dogs for the
Blind
Quicksilver - mercury - liquid metal.
Quiksilver/Roxy - boardwear brand - see DC Shoes , Surfdome , Rip 101 , Island Surf , Cloggs , Shred Head , Nucleus , Pacsun , Designer Discount , M and M Direct IE , Up and Riding
Quicksilver Gaming - see Cyber Slotz
David Silver Spares - see Motorcycles
Pieces of Eight - silver Spanish Dollars which could be cut into halves, quarters, or eight pieces. The idea of "a quarter of a dollar" still lives on in the American quarter, 25 cents. Yes, it's true; pieces of eight were made of silver.
Long John Silver - a pirate, in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The style of Long John Silver has contributed much to the modern archetype of "a pirate", including such things as saying "Ah-arrr!" and having a parrot. The book is available from Amazon or as a free download at Gutenberg
Silver Sonic - see Street-Cred Enhanced Hearing-Aid and then follow the link to JML.
One of the largest silver coins ever minted was the Panama 20 Balboa coin. These weigh 4 ounces and are 61mm in diameter. See http://www.australian-threepence.com/blog/2009/03/silver-panama-20-balboa.html
Also see Gold