Which Metal Is The Best Condutor Of Heat And Electricity ?? Science

Silver. 
  The best conductor of both heat and electricity is also the most reflective of all the elements. Its drawback is that it is expensive. The reason we use copper wire in our electrical equipment is because copper – the second most conductive element – is much cheaper. As well as its decorative uses, silver is now mostly used in the photographic industry, for long-life batteries and for solar panels. Silver has the curious property of sterilising water. Only tiny amounts are needed – just ten parts per billion. 

This remarkable fact has been known since the fifth century BC when Herodotus reported that the Persian king Cyrus the Great travelled with his own personal water supply taken from a special stream, boiled, and sealed in silver vessels. Both the Romans and Greeks noticed that food and drink put in silver containers did not spoil so quickly. 

Silver’s strong antibacterial qualities were made use of for many centuries before bacteria were discovered. This may also explain why silver coins are often found at the bottom of ancient wells. A word of caution before you start filling your silver tankard. First, while silver will certainly kill bacteria in the lab, whether or not it will do so in the body is controversial. Many of the supposed advantages are unproven: the US Food and Drug Administration has forbidden companies from advertising health benefits. 

Second, there is a disease called argyria which is linked to the intake of silver particles diluted in water, the most obvious symptom of which is a conspicuously blue skin. On the other hand, silver salts in swimming pools are a safe substitute for chlorine and, in the US, athletes’ socks are impregnated with silver to stop their feet smelling. Water is an exceptionally poor conductor of electricity, especially pure water, which is actually used as an insulator. What conducts the electricity is not the H2O molecules but the chemicals dissolved in it – salt, for example. Sea water is a hundred times better at conducting electricity than fresh water, but it’s a million times worse at conducting electricity than silver.