Summary
That said, I'm not buying [Theodore Gray]'s claim that "by and large" silver "didn't tarnish before the Industrial Age." The idea, seemingly, is that since airborne sulfur compounds are what react with silver to create the characteristic blackish patina of silver sulfide, tarnish wouldn't have been an issue until humanity started burning mass quantities of coal, consequently pumping the atmosphere full of sulfur. But that's likely overstating the case. While coal-burning power plants are responsible for producing most of the sulfur dioxide out there (and thus acid rain), they don't contribute that much of the compounds that actually cause silver to tarnish, namely hydrogen sulfide - best known as a key player in the smell of rotten eggs and flatulence - and the similarly pungent carbonyl sulfide. About 90% of the hydrogen sulfide and more than two-thirds of the carbonyl sulfide in our atmosphere come from (you guessed it) volcanoes, salt marshland, undersea vents, and other natural sources. The remainder results from human activity - not so much the farting as the refining of petroleum and natural gas, the manufacturing of paper and chemicals, and the processing of sewage.
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Silver Linings
I recently read a Popular Science article by some geek who set out to manufacture silver bullets. He noted in the course of the piece that prior to the Industrial Revolution silver didn't tarnish because of the lack of sulfur in the air I'm ...
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