A single ounce of silver can be drawn into a wire 8,000 feet long.

Silver is renowned in materials science for its exceptional ductility and malleability, trailing only gold in these categories. Ductility refers to a metal's ability to undergo significant plastic deformation under tensile stress before rupturing. This property allows a standard troy ounce of silver, which is approximately 31.1 grams, to be drawn through progressively smaller dies until it reaches a length of 2,438 meters or 8,000 feet.At this extreme length, the resulting silver wire is roughly 30 times thinner than the average human hair, which typically measures about 70 microns in diameter. This microscopic thinness is achieved because silver atoms can slide over one another without losing their metallic bonding. This characteristic is a result of the non-directional nature of metallic bonds and the specific crystal structure of silver atoms.The industrial importance of this property cannot be overstated. According to the Silver Institute, silver's ductility combined with its status as the best electrical conductor makes it indispensable for printed circuit boards and nanotechnology. In the electronics industry, silver is often used to create ultra-thin conductive paths that are flexible enough to withstand the mechanical stresses of modern portable devices.Historically, this property has been utilized for centuries in the art of filigree. Jewelers in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt used silver's ductility to create intricate lace-like patterns from incredibly fine wires. Today, the same physical principles allow for the production of high-performance silver coated copper wires used in aerospace and high-end audio equipment.