Group 11 element Parkes process. These metals, especially silver, have unusual properties that make them essential for industrial applications outside of their monetary or decorative value. They are all excellent conductors of electricity. The most conductive of all metals are silver, copper and gold in that order. Silver is also the most thermally conductive element, and the most light reflecting element. Silver also has the unusual property that the tarnish that forms on silver is still highly electrically conductive. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring and circuitry. Gold contacts are sometimes found in precision equipment for their ability to remain corrosion-free. Silver
Period 6 element oxide. Bismuth metal has been known from ancient times, although until the 18th century it was often confused with lead and tin, which each have some of the metal's bulk physical properties. The etymology is uncertain but possibly comes from Arabic "bi ismid" meaning having the properties of antimony or German words "weisse masse" or "wismuth" meaning"white mass." Bismuth is the most naturally diamagnetic of all metals, and only mercury has a lower thermal conductivity. Bismuth has classically been considered to be the heaviest naturally occurring stable element, in terms of atomic mass. Recently, however, it has been found to