Silver does not react with water because it is an inert metal. Inert metals, also known as noble metals, are characterized by their low reactivity towards various substances, including water. This lack of reactivity is due to the electronic structure of these metals, specifically their filled valence electron shells.
In the case of silver, it has a filled 4d^10 electronic configuration in its outermost energy level. This means that all of its available valence electron positions are occupied, leaving no room for interaction with water molecules. Therefore, silver remains unreactive towards water.
To further understand this, let’s delve into the nature of the water molecule. Water is a polar molecule, meaning it has a slight positive charge at one end (hydrogen) and a slight negative charge at the other end (oxygen). This polarity allows water molecules to form hydrogen bonds with each other, giving rise to various unique properties of water, such as its high boiling point and surface tension.
However, the electronic structure of silver does not allow it to form significant interactions with the polar water molecules. The filled valence electron shell of silver prevents the metal from donating or accepting electrons, which are crucial for chemical reactions to occur.
It is worth noting that while silver does not react with water under normal conditions, it can react with certain acids, such as nitric acid, to form silver ions. These reactions involve the oxidation of silver atoms, breaking the stability of its filled valence electron shell.
In my personal experience working with silver, I have observed its unreactive nature towards water. When I have immersed silver jewelry or coins in water for cleaning or storage purposes, I have noticed that there is no visible change or reaction taking place. This further supports the fact that silver is inert towards water.
To summarize, silver does not react with water because it is an inert metal with a filled valence electron shell. This electronic configuration prevents silver from forming significant interactions with water molecules, thus maintaining its unreactive nature.