Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag ) and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form, as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.
Silver
Silver is extremely ductile, and can be drawn into a wire one atom wide.
The three common silver halide precipitates: from left to right, silver iodide, silver bromide, and silver chloride
Crystals of silver nitrate
A chemical element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions. The basic particle that constitutes a chemical element is the atom. Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in the nuclei of their atoms, known as the element's atomic number. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, meaning that each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus. Two or more atoms of the same element can combine to form molecules, in contrast to chemical compounds or mixtures, which contain atoms of different elements. Atoms can be transformed into different elements in nuclear reactions, which change an atom's atomic number.
Estimated distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Only the fraction of the mass and energy in the universe labeled "atoms" is composed of chemical elements.
Portrait of Robert Boyle, c. 1740
Title page of The Sceptical Chymist, published in 1661
Portrait of Isaac Watts by John Shury, c. 1830