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While building my latestsilver.com site recently, I visited the Pan American Silver Website which has a very good overview of Silver uses, facts etc. Being a huge silver bull, this is very good information. It is a lot of reading but if you have the time, it will tell you everything you need to know about silver and why it's going much higher.

Although about one quarter of the world's annual silver supply is consumed in photography, much of this silver is recycled from within the photographic sector from used film, fluids and paper.

    * All of the silver in color film processing is kept in the developing solution - none ends up on the photo - meaning that 100 percent recycling is possible.
    * Black and white imaging is the poorest recycler of silver. X-rays consume 30 to 40 percent of the silver used in photography annually and the number of x-rays taken each year is growing rapidly.
    * Much of the growth in demand for photographic products comes from developing countries, where recycling industries are immature and access to digital technology is very limited.

Sterling silver contains 92.5 percent silver. It is commonly alloyed with gold or copper for manufacture of stunning jewelry and silverware.

    * Silver can be buffed to a higher polish than any other metal, a quality highlighted in mirrors and reflective coatings on glass, cellophane and metals.
    * Silver's superior ductility and reflective luster make it a better metal for jewelry than the more brittle and duller gray finish of platinum -- it is also much less expensive.
    * As a precious metal, silver is also used in coinage programs in many countries. The US Strategic Defence Stockpile contained approximately 2 billion ounces of silver after World War II. The last of this silver was delivered to the US Mint in 2001. Silver for future US coinage programs will be sourced from open market purchases.

One of the most fascinating properties of silver is its bactericidal
quality.

    * In ionic form, silver kills bacteria by breaking down their cell walls, yet it is inert in the human body. No silver-resistant bacterial strains are known to exist.
    * Besides the more commonly known silver medicinal uses in eye drops, nasal spray and burn ointments, silver is replacing the use of chlorine, which is now suspected to have long-term toxic effects, in water filtration systems for hospitals, apartments, pools, schools and municipalities.
    * Silver compounds may grow very rapidly in use as wood preservatives (for decking, outdoor furniture, railroad ties, telephone poles, etc.) as a substitute for arsenic compounds, which are toxic to the environment. Several large home product retailers have stated that, within two years, they will no longer sell arsenic treated wood.
    * In a similar use, paints containing silver compounds may gradually replace those currently used for marine anti-fouling coatings for boats, docks, piers, etc.

Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals. In fact silver defines conductivity - all other metals are compared against it.

    * Silver possesses the unique ability to not spark, making its use in electrical contacts irreplaceable.
    * Silver has the unique ability to "wet" (join) many metals. It is this quality that consumes silver in many soldering and brazing applications. Silver is replacing tin/lead solders in many applications -- for its higher conductivity and to eliminate the use of lead for environmental reasons.
    * Silver tape is a critical component of high temperature superconductive wires, which can carry more electrical current than conventional wire bundles, with far less resistance and in a fraction of the space. Superconductive cables will be a critical component of power grids of the future, especially in metropolitan areas where space is at a premium and the existing power infrastructure must carry greater current loads.
The technological revolution has transformed silver, the old metal of coin and art, into a key component of electronics, X-rays, photography, computers, aerospace and medicine.

Silver is the most reflective metal, which means that it can be polished to "give back" as much light as hits it.

The film coating on mirror backings is a common "industrial" use of silver. Besides vanity uses, mirrors are important components in telescopes, microscopes and solar panels.

Silver is the best heat conductor of all metals. Its uses in solar panels and automobile rear window defoggers take advantage of this quality.

Silver alloys readily with gold and copper and is commonly combined with one or both for manufacture of dental fillings and fixtures, jewelry and silverware. Sterling silver contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. 14 karat gold consists of 53% gold, 25% silver and 22% copper.

Silver has the capacity to join, or "wet", other metals at temperatures far below their melting points. It is for this reason that silver brazing alloys and solders are commonly used in tubing and electrical conduits for household appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers.

Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals. In fact, silver defines conductivity - all other metals are compared against it. On a scale of 0 to 100, silver ranks 100, with copper at 97 and gold at 76. Because of this property, and because it doesn't spark easily, silver is commonly used in electrical circuits and contacts. Silver is also utilized in batteries where dependability is mandatory and weight restrictions apply, such as those for portable surgical tools, hearing aids, pacemakers and space travel.

One of the most fascinating properties of silver is its bactericidal quality. Small concentrations of silver or silver salts kill bacteria by chemically affecting the cell membranes, causing them to break down. Bacteria do not develop resistance to silver, as they do to many antibiotics. Because of its bactericidal properties, silver nitrate drops are used to clean the eyes of newborns in much of the world. Silver rich cremes are common household ointments for burns. Cotton gauze soaked in silver solution is proving a miracle cure for intensive care burn victims. While silver keeps bacteria at bay, it also cauterizes minor capillaries, preventing blood loss, and the buildup of excessive scar tissue. Silver gauze is used to pack wounds of patients during transport to medical facilities. It is relatively inert in the human body, so it is commonly used to pin fractured bones, and sew large wounds. Silver-based water purification systems, both portable and industrial, are gaining widespread popularity.

Silver has a pure sweet acoustic resonance, better than any other metal, and is preferred by musicians for making high quality silver bells and musical instruments.

After rising by 24 percent in 2003, silver had a strong year again in 2004, rising by 13.6 percent and ranging from a low of $5.63 per ounce to a high of $8.29 per ounce.  In 2004, silver outperformed gold by 9.6 percent and showed high volatility. This strong trend has continued to date in 2005, buoyed by excellent demand and supply fundamentals and by favourable macroeconomic conditions prevailing in the world.

The most significant factors influencing silver on the positive side in 2004 were: pronounced weakness in the US dollar which increased investment demand for silver, strongly higher industrial demand particularly in the electrical and electronics industries; lower Chinese stockpile sales of silver; flat supply growth from silver mines; and lower silver scrap supply due mainly to less silver being used in photography. On the negative side, silver demand in photography decreased due to growth in digital cameras (though the decrease was only modest as most photographic sectors remain silver-based), and Indian jewellery and silverware demand decreased sharply due to the higher silver price.

For the fourteenth year in a row, fabrication demand outstripped silver supply from mines and scrap sources, by about 60 million ounces. The accumulated silver supply deficit since 1992 is now more than 1.4 billion ounces, which has been satisfied through the disposal of above-ground inventories. In recent years the major source of such inventories has been government stockpiles. In 2004 the US government sold the last of its silver stockpile that had been as large as 2 billion ounces in the 1950s, and the Chinese government sold about 40 million ounces from its stockpile, a sharp reduction from earlier years. With US stockpiles gone and Chinese stockpiles drastically reduced, the only other known government stockpile is in India, which announced in early 2005 that it would sell off its entire 65 million ounce inventory over the next three years at a rate of about 20 million ounces a year.

The outlook for 2005 and beyond remains very bullish for silver prices. Strong prices for all metal commodities are being driven by strong economic conditions globally, particularly in China and southeast Asia. Silver and gold prices are likely to move higher with any continuing weakness in the US dollar. The depletion of above-ground stockpiles continues and at some point will be insufficient to feed the silver deficit, requiring higher prices to establish an equilibrium in supply and demand. On the mining side, although Pan American and a few other companies are increasing their production of silver, mining is inherently a depleting business and many existing silver mines are slated for closure in the next five years, to offset the production growth.  New industrial applications for silver continue to make their way to market, particularly in the biocide and electronic industries, thus bolstering industrial demand. Finally, a silver-based Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) will probably be listed on a US exchange in 2005, which would increase investment demand for silver, possibly dramatically.

I also recommend you read the 2005 Silver Market Report.