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Silver (Ag), element 47
Silver (Ag) is the chemical element with atomic number 47: a transition metal in group 11, period 5. At 25 °C it is a solid, with an atomic mass of 107.9 u.
Physical and chemical data
| Atomic number | 47 |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Ag |
| Atomic mass | 107.9 u |
| Density | 10.5 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 961.78 °C (1,234.93 K) |
| Boiling point | 2,161.85 °C (2,435 K) |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.93 |
| Electron configuration | [Kr]5s1 4d10 |
| Atomic radius (van der Waals) | 172 pm |
| Oxidation states | +1 |
| Physical state at 25 °C | solid |
| Family | transition metal |
| Group and period | 11 / 5 |
| Discoverer and year | known since antiquity |
Humanity has lived with silver since before chemistry existed as a science: there is no discoverer to record, only millennia of use.
Neighbours on the table
Horizontally, one proton less lands on Palladium (Z=46); one more lands on Cadmium (Z=48). Vertically, group 11 gathers relatives with similar behaviour: Copper, Gold, Roentgenium.
The story behind the name
The symbol Ag comes from the Latin argentum, from an ancient root meaning shining white. It is the only element that names a country: Argentina is literally the land of silver, so called by the explorers of the Río de la Plata who hoped to find the metal there. Worked since antiquity, silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all elements, and its light sensitive salts gave us photography: every old film photograph is a drawing made of metallic silver.
Physical and chemical data: PubChem Periodic Table (NCBI, compiling NIST and IUPAC), public domain, snapshot of 2026-07-10. Temperatures converted from kelvin; historical notes cross checked against classic chemistry references.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources