The magnet test for silver.

What happens

Silver is diamagnetic: it's very slightly repelled by a magnet, too weakly to feel. A strong magnet won't stick to real silver at all.

The slow slide

Set a silver bar at an angle and put a strong neodymium magnet on it, and the magnet slides down slowly instead of dropping. That isn't magnetism in the metal; it's eddy currents. The moving magnet induces small electric currents in the silver, and they push back against its motion. Because silver conducts so well, the braking is strong. Copper, which conducts almost as well, slows the magnet almost as much, so the slide shows good conductivity, not silver.

What it rules out, and what it doesn't

• Rules out: iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt, the metals a magnet grabs.
• Doesn't rule out: copper, brass, lead, aluminum, and tungsten, none of which a magnet noticeably attracts.
• Watch for: a steel spring in a clasp or a steel pin can make a silver piece cling; test the body of the piece.

Use it as a first check, then weigh and measure the piece or try a test that sees more: see how to test silver.

Sources

• HyperPhysics (Georgia State University), magnetic properties of materials.
• University of Colorado physics demonstrations, eddy current braking (demonstration 5K20.24).

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