18 Nov
2009
18 Nov
'09
12:39 a.m.
On 17 Nov 2009 at 18:18, Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
As far as commodity values of metals, isn't the
peak rhodium or
iridium or something like that?
The current spot price of rhodium is about USD$2500 per troy ounce,
or about twice the price of the same weight of gold.
Commercial uses of silver abound. In addition to being a component
of certain solders/brazes, it's used extensively in electroplating
Indeed, flutes are commonly made with at least the headjoint being
solid silver. Several of my tubas are plated with it. Unlike, say,
nickel, contact dermatitis is rare.
(Silver plating actually hails back before electroplating techniques;
in the 16th--18th centuries, an amalgam was made and painted on brass
or copper, then heated, which boiled off the mercury and left the
silver behind as a thin plating).
How about those dental fillings? Another amalgam of silver.
Among metals, silver has the highest thermal and electrical
conductivity. It's also used for mirrors.
Silver is still used in photography and much is still used for
radiography.
Indeed, one can argue that silver has far more uses than gold, even
if you leave out high-end audiophile speaker cables.
--Chuck