Silver
transition metal · period 5 · group 11 (coinage metals) · d-block
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin argentum, derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ: "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.
What the numbers say
At standard temperature and pressure Silver is a solid, sitting in period 5, group 11 of the d-block.
Its melting point of 1235 K (962 °C) is the 50th highest of the 110 elements with a measured value — mid-range among the elements.
At 10.49 g/cm³ it is the 25th densest of 96 elements with a quoted density.
Pauling electronegativity is 1.93. Paired with oxygen (3.44) that is a difference of 1.51, which puts the bond polar covalent — oxides here tend to be semiconducting or refractory rather than salt-like.
In the solid state it takes a face-centered cubic structure — FCC packing gives 12 independent slip systems, which is why FCC metals are the ductile, formable ones.
It is reported in 4 oxidation states (1, 2, 3, 4), which sets how many distinct compounds and phases it can form.
First identified in c. 5000 BCE.
Crystal structure
Solid Silver adopts a Face-centered Cubic arrangement, in the Cubic (isometric) system — axes a = b = c, angles α = β = γ = 90°. Symmetry controls the anisotropy of stiffness and thermal expansion, and the available slip systems set how far the metal deforms before it fractures.
Check it against computed structures
The structure search queries the Materials Project, OQMD and the Open Materials Database for computed crystal structures containing Ag — with DFT formation energy, hull stability and band gap where the provider publishes them.
K 2 · L 8 · M 18 · N 18 · O 1
Properties
| Atomic number | 47 |
|---|---|
| Atomic mass | 107.86822 u |
| Series | transition metal |
| Group | 11 |
| Period | 5 |
| Block | d-block |
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Density | 10.49 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 1234.93 K (962 °C) |
| Boiling point | 2435 K (2162 °C) |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.93 |
| Electron configuration | [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹ |
| Crystal structure | Face-centered Cubic |
| Oxidation states | 1,2,3,4 |
| Discovered | c. 5000 BCE |
← Back to the periodic table
See Ag in context with all 118 elements.
Working with silver in a real design?
Ask the materials chat how Ag behaves in your alloy system, what it does to weldability, and which grades to look at — with the source of every number named.