Pure silver is nearly white, lustrous, soft, very ductile, malleable, and an excellent Conductor of Heat and Electricity . It is used in mirrors, coins, utensils, antiseptics, jewelry, and for electrolytic plating of tableware. Silver nitrate is its most important Compound . Photographic emulsions contain silver halides, because of their sensitivity to Light . Silver alloys are used in dentistry and electrical contacts.
Silver is obtained from the ores argentite, cerarygrite, pyrargyrite, stephanite, and proustite.