The Chemistry
of
Colors
Silver Jewelry
Silver(Ag) chemical element wiht atomic number 47 and atomic weight 107.868
is a very malleable and ductile metal. The use of silver in jewerly
is well known. Silver is recovered from silver ores by roasting the
ore in a furnance to convert the sulfides to sulfates and then chemically
precipitating metallic silver, this process is known as amalgamation.
Durning the process the ore is crushed and treated with mercury, in which
the metal dissolves. The amalgam is heated and the mercury evaporates
leaving pure silver.
References: http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/6C/06CD5000/htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1
http://www.webelements.com
http://www.goggle.com
Return to
index page