Silver
has long been valued as a precious metal, and it is used
to make ornaments, jewelry, high-value tableware, utensils
(hence the term silverware), and currency coins. Today,
silver metal is also used in electrical contacts and conductors,
in mirrors and in catalysis of chemical reactions. Its compounds
are used in photographic film, and dilute silver nitrate
solutions and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants
and microbiocides. While many medical antimicrobial uses
of silver have been supplanted by antibiotics, further research
into clinical potential continues. |
