A Witcher carries two swords -- one of iron for men and beasts, and the other coated in silver for monsters. But what is it about silver that makes it so good for supernatural slaying? Kyle cuts through the mystery... with science!
By ingesting lead ,copper ,silver ,mercury and gold even in small doses A human infant CAN DIE. IN greece women that had milk to breast feed used to cover their nipples with small copper and silver plates. To protect from any infection. But some copper or silver molecules rubbed of on the skin so if they didnt wash it off the infant would ingest it. This is how my great Grandmother lost her fisrt child due to Copper ingestion poisoning because she hadn't washed off her breasts before feeding her newborn son. Poor kid didnt stop crying and died after a few days :( . The doctor that came was from the Hospital in Athens and said the infant had ingested some miligrams of copper and it went to its blood stream through the small intenstine and killed her son. Also travelers in greece used to have copper and silver bracelets to put over wounds to make it more difficult for them to get infected. That is why most door knobs where made of bronze or copper because they where great disinfectants.
Hey Kyle I Utterly Hope you see this... So you are saying Tony Stark had Extreme Concentration of Silver Poisoning.....why???.... Because He had Arc Reactor which uses Palladium 107 as it's main core and pd 103 as an Electron Capture product.... So in this Hypothetical Reaction( if only in Marvel verse ) Ionized Pd 103 absorbs electrons and releases Gamma ray and neutrons... Which are directed towards the core and Bombards Pd 107.. which in turn absorbs neutrons and releases electrons ( Gamma ray is basically a catalyst in this reaction.. like my brother ) and electrons are sent off to outer core inside Pd 103 absorbs it again... So a complete cycle. Right ?? Well not because Protons will attract electrons to form Product Silver in Inner core(pd107) and pd103 decays into Rhodium... So there is no net charge left .... This reaction is self contained .... Even if it is possible.... Tony would suffer from high levels of Silver in his blood and also Fortunately high energetic particles are smashing on his chest....not only his skin would turn silverish blue but he would suffer Anxiety attacks as symptoms ... Which already happened and this lead to failure of Decision Making and Logical Fallacies ... That is why He and Bruce created Ultron.... And guess what Civil War Happened because of Tony.... Not because of Steve...he was physically and mentally tortured by the very Machine which was Keeping Him Alive...... And in Endgame he faced ultimate times Radiation... Which definitely killed... He looked like he was burning or more specifically Carbon Decaying.... Now this is an Horrible Death... I also ( whoho ) on Cavil's Jawline😊😊😇😇
"As you can see, I carry two. Every witcher does. It’s said, spitefully, the silver one is for monsters and the iron for humans. But that’s wrong. As there are monsters which can be struck down only with a silver blade, so there are those for whom iron is lethal." - Geralt of Rivia
and the silver one is only for particular monsters that for some magic reason are weak to silver, like werewolves, certain spirits, certain minor vampires... and that's the reason why the silver sword is usually on Roach's saddle :D
@@Tacklepig actually, yes, but considering the specificity of the monster type, that all of them are the result of some kind of curse, and that this last thing is the only thing common to all silver-weak monsters, i tend to think that more that the antiseptic proprieties of silver, the real benefit is the folkloric anti-curse powers of silver, the fact it represents purity
I got really into biology 20 or so years ago because of an amazing game called Parasite Eve. It was the disease in game that attacked the cells, specifically the mitochondria and transformed the mobs into -you guessed it - zombies. Because of that game I got really into biology and chemistry. Had my chem teacher sign off on my AP bio request because I wanted to be able to design a disease that would end the world by zombies. Again it was over some 20 years ago when I was just a wee lad. 13 or 14 years old. So who says video games ONLY cause violence and aren't good for education? Without that game I never would have graduated ap bio (that's an advanced bio course worth college credits for all you dropouts or people living in a state without a regents board like NY) and wouldn't be the crazy brainiac I am today. BS
Kratos does not say boi. He says "BOY!" Use ENGLISH LANGUAGE not ebonics. Stupid illiterate and under read people use ebonics. I only say under read to mean the grown man I heard struggle to read the word DICTIONARY... I mean really... pick one up and read it... dry as fuck but you learn to SPEAK ENGLISH! Even has a (how•to•pro•noun•ce) for LITERALLY every word. I was bored in english class waiting for another student to finish reading aloud the paragraph I read 10 minutes ago and then waiting for the class to catch up. Turns out I read half the book in 5 minutes. Then for the rest of class just wrote everything in the dictionary into my notebook. They didn't make it off page 15. I read up to page 150. I read 190 words a minute silently and 65 aloud... if you want to understand it.
During playing Witcher series (and watching Supernatural) I always thought that silver is just magically dangerous to monsters. I never realized that it could be explained in scientific way. I'm actually quite surprised.
@Minstrel🎼 Not all are even vulnerable to silver. Only the unnatural ones are. Even in the games, silver is effective only against necrophages, therianthropes, cursed ones, shapeshifters, wraiths, and vampires. (According to Witcher wiki)
What I love about this episode (Yeah, love the show) is how it takes the "magical" aspects of precious metals and brings some science to it all. Silver and Gold has been used for as long as humans have believed in monsters and demons and the ilk. The precious metals were used to ward them off, or kill them...much as the Witcher does. With the explanations given here, it explains the reasoning wonderfully. Many ailments such as lycanthropy and vampirism has at times been contributed to a viral infection, so the use of silver to kill such creatures makes SO much sense. Side note. The reason vampires could not see their reflections in mirrors was due to the silver backing of the mirrors. Today's mirrors use other materials, such as polished aluminum. Since aluminum isn't considered a precious metal, or given any special significance regarding the supernatural, it is possible to assume that vampires are walking among us. We would never know it because they have...reflections.
Hey Kyle! Fantastic show, I haven't missed a single one since I stumbled upon your episode on Dune worms. Something about your comment on silver oxide (7:17) didn't sit right with me. If Geralt allowed his silvered sword to oxidize there would be visible tarnish coating it, and this doesn't seem to be the case. In fact in the show we see him polishing the sword, so he seems to NOT want the silver to oxidize. This got me thinking, what would be the deadliest application for silver ions that haven't oxidized. Spring-boarding off of your hypothesis that monsters might have a unique cellular make up, what if they had an unusually high concentration of acid in their cells? That would be strange to be sure, since many acids can denature proteins and destroy cell walls. However, if monster cells contained a significant amount of nitric acid (HNO3), for example, then introducing silver into the monster's system could be DEVASTATING. The reaction would result in Silver Nitrate (AgNO3), an extremely toxic and corrosive compound. It's also an oxidizer, so when the wound was exposed to air it would also create red fuming nitric acid (NO2), choking the beast and creating a very cool cloud of red smoke after Geralt slayed the creature. Then he could put on his sunglasses and walk away in slow motion without looking back. B-)
In the show (and in the books), Geralt only carries around the steel sword, leaving the silver sword on Roach for when he needs it (having both swords on his back is an invention by the games). In the show we only ever see him use the silver sword when fighting a monster and I don't recall it ever showing him polishing it. He was in all likelihood polishing the steel sword as that's the one he carries around with him.
@@WhitePointerGaming The theory still works, becouse swords are usually (also in the show) carried in scabbards, which are from inside impregnated with oil, so the sword won´t rust. That´s why he wouldn´t even have to polish it often.
@@WhitePointerGaming We don't need to actually see Geralt polishing his sword to know he more than likely takes care of his swords regularly. Remember he is, above everything else, a professional; And even today professional soldiers perform regular maintenance of their weapons lest they fail or break when they need it most. This was also true for professional medieval warriors (For example many surviving suits of knight's armor show signs of "overcleaning", which is to say gold embelishments are often worn away from being polished practically on a daily basis), and I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to assume a professional monster hunter would set the same standard of upkeep for their equipment
Also, we see that the monsters do contain toxic materials and compounds in their blood and organs, considering that creating potions and cocktails from various monster bits will result in a concoction with a "toxicity" level, which could be further evidence for your claim!
In Greek philosophy (some of the earliest sources of thinking behind this), self reflection (symbolic) was seen as a path to self fulfillment and living a good life. Mercury and silver could provide a literal reflection and were thought to help in this self reflection process. What is cool, is that monster stories have been used to demonstrate and get people to come “face to face” with human flaws. Because silver and mercury were seen as a pathway to encouraging purity and self fulfillment, people started saying that weapons of silver (like the mirror used against Medusa for instance) were super effective against monsters. They believed self reflection could destroy the monsters inside of men too. Such a cool instance of how the process of mythology, fantasy and reality can meld together to give us some great stories :)
I am definitely taking that comment, in context, to mean that Henry Cavill's jawline makes scientific and logical sense because different enemies require different tactics.
How much silver would we as humans have to ingest for it to do harm or damage to us or to our cells, then? (Also, people saying they love the show isn't a meme. We genuinely think you're doing a good job and you reacted positively to these compliments in the beginning so we just kept going!)
It's not clear how much colloidal silver may be harmful, but it can build up in your body's tissues over months or years. Most commonly, this results in argyria (ahr-JIR-e-uh), a blue-gray discoloration of your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums. Source mayo clinic. As it kills pathogens i would say when it starts affecting your gut bacteria.
This is one of the unique things about silver. It has anti-microbial effects, like most heavy metals do, but unlike other heavy metals, it isn't particularly toxic to complex organisms. Silver compounds are taken up just like, say, mercury, but it's nonreactive enough that it doesn't hurt us. (Silver fluoride and silver nitrate are exceptions, but that's mostly the fault of what the silver atoms are bonded to.) Large doses of silver can be absorbed into the body's tissues and cause argyria. It literally turns you blue. But while this is disfiguring, and usually permanent, it doesn't have any other effects on health.
Silver nanoparticles (wittle baby silver particles you can't see) are used in some "health drinks" and there have been reports of people drinking so much of it that they get sick from some of the negative effects it has on your gut bacteria, which is almost as bad as directly harming us anyways, but its not directly toxic to humans. Also, I might add that I do not recommend drinking these drinks. Lol
This line has been repeated everywhere when witcher swords are concerned but when did Geralt actually say this? Is this like that "Beam me up, Scotty" thing that everyone quotes but was never said in the series?
@@rafzur1854 I seem to vaguely remember some game trailer not entirely sure though that or it came from book quote ''Both are for monster's some of them require steel and not silver.''
When you mentioned the silver ions, it made me think of the joke with two atoms talking to each other: "I just lost an electron." "Are you positive?" Classic.
Skallagrim did a great video on this topic. It's definitely worth a watch; basically, he noted that you would probably be better off with an axe, spear, mace, warhammer, or arrow/crossbow with a silver head, along with a number of ways to make a sword more practical, notably a chisel grind, an engraved blade with silver inlays or silver fuller, and a blade soaked in some sort of liquid silver as a sort of poison.
Hey Kyle! Really really love the show (not saying it just to get to footnotes, I REALLY mean it) I am a med student so I have quite a bit of knowledge about celular biology and I noticed that when you were talking about the effects of silver on bacteria you mentioned some organelles like Mitochindria (which are exclusive to Eukaryotic cells) and a bacteria (which is a prokaryotic cell) wouldn’t have. With your diagram and organelle explanation you would be able to explain the effects of silver in a PROTIST organism, which is a unicelular Eukaryotic organism. Also, when silver enters the cell it may bind to certain enzymes, inhibiting their proper function or changing their structure and that would be catastrophic for any organism. I would also like to add that further effects of silver may include messing up with the electrical gradient that cells use to pass necessary ions to support cell function, like messing up with the sodium channels by actually blocking them because of their charge and relative atomic size (this is a similar effect to what Calcium naturally does in an organism, but to a more extensive scale due to the atomic size of silver). Keep up the great work man, big fan of yours.
You beat me to the punch! Lol. Glad I read the comments first to make sure I wasn't repeating someone else now! Two other things I'd add is: One: that an electric field can increase effectiveness of Silver as an antibiotic. Two: That bacteria can actually incorporate the Silver as it is being killed by it. The bacteria then become a source of Silver which kills additional bacteria. Silver is actually being used in everything from Endotracheal tubes to reduce the chance of VAP to Catheters to reduce CAUTI. As resistance to antibiotics / anti microbial substances increase, as well as nosocomial infection, we are seeing a greater return to Silver being used prophylactilly (prevention for those who snickered ;)). . The only issue is that some people are allergic to Silver. Also, while the human body has no need for Silver, we also can't process and excrete it. This can lead to a 'Blueing' of the skin in areas where topical Silver is used, and all over if it is more systemic. Look up Paul Karason (I actually had to look up the name, I just remembered him on the Today show). Outside of the medical field, but still within science, Silver was used by the Russian space agency to disinfect the water on MIR and is actually still used, as far as I know, for the same on the ISS. It is also used in various forms for water purification in developing countries. And... just in case Kyle does read this... Great show.. No Meme, just truth...
@@PeterParker-ff7ub If your asking me... My big secret is... I'm Old! lol... Really it's just years of accumulated knowledge and useless facts and trivia that someday turn out to be worth something. To date myself a little, I heavily researched the space program during Jan 1986 for a science project in middle school and presentation to my class. The actual launch that we were going to watch was Challenger. Ya, that was rough... I was a little stunned and speechless for a bit. Anyway, Science has always fascinated me and as I got older, it was kind of split between the computer/electronics industry and the medical and biotech/bioengineering fields that took my fancy. Always volunteered as a FF/EMT though. The best advice I can give is to make it fun. Dry, rote memorization is really only good for regurgitating the information out on a test and then forgetting it. It is one of the many reasons I love to see science communicators like Kyle. They make it just that little bit (or a lot) more fun for people to get into science.
Great video!! I have heard of the old folk remedy of "Silver Water". Its nice to know something of the real science behind it. The only problem is that Prokaryotes don't have Mitochondria or other membrane bound organelles. I think it interferes with the enzymes embedded in the Bacterial Membrane that are used in Cellular Respiration. Regardless, keep up the good work, sir!!😁
"A witcher has two main tools, a steel sword for men and a silver sword for monsters" I think you're forgetting the most important tool for Geralt. The one reserved for the women.
Domidayv I’ve got an infection on my foot that hasn’t been healing at all for 6 months straight. Antibiotics help for a while but they just make me feel sick. Yesterday I covered the wound in powdered silver along with the usual iodine coating and between the two of them, the wound is completely clean and partially healed today. It really is miraculous stuff. Hopefully another week or two and it should be fine.
I learned things. Cool. Also in Witcher world, monsters come from the "conjunction of the spheres" and the need for Witchers rose from humanity's need of adaptation against magic and monsters. I would like to put forth that these big boy monsters, though they can be cut and stabbed with our standard metal alloys, are able to heal themselves considerably faster from non-fatal injuries due to a natural adaptation to their very hostile world (natural selection might have had that trait selected in their natural habitat in a common ancestor to these monsters). Some monsters seem to have a really violent adverse reaction to silver while others... well we don't know because they get stabbed pretty fast with the silver sword and die (Geralt does not mess around). Could it be that all monsters share a similarly violent reaction to silver? In which case being stabbed with em would mean that a stabbed monster with silver coated blade would be "suffering" from its wound, thus providing better opportunities for a fatal wound. It's all about stabbing the other guy better than he can stab you.
Funnily enough humans came to the Witcher world with the Conjunction just like many other creatures. Anyway in the novels Geralt actually uses the silver sword very rarely and handles the sword like a baby because it gets damaged easily and it's expensive to fix. Essentially Geralt keeps the silver sword on Roach and draws it only when the iron sword doesn't work. Most monsters can be killed with the iron.
@ShalakumX Simba You're kinda right. The Witcher works with the multiverse theory and the Earth exists on one of those multiverses. It's where humanity originates and it was also destroyed by humans (at least according to Avallac'h who might not be neutral point of view). However the planet where the primary story takes place isn't the Earth. It's another planet entirely so lets call it the World (since it's still unnamed). Humanity is as alien to the World as many other monsters and creatures and they have inhabited the World somewhere between 1500 (the Conjuction happened) to 500 (humanity started to colonise the World) years before the Witcher novels. So yes, to humanity the Witcher is very much post-apocalyptic story where they escaped to another planet.
Basically it serves the same purpose as those soldiers who purposely dipped and coated their bullets in feces to inflict damage after the initial confrontation
@ShalakumX Simba that's true in a way. Witcher is a post apocalyptic world but humans aren't the ones that survived the apocalypse, they are it.in the conjunction of sphere's humans and monsters came to the Witcher world (the only creatures Actually completely native we know of are dragons and maybe Dopplers ) and completely took it over because of humans higher rate of reproduction in comparison to the elder races
Hey Kyle, love the show! It's fantastic what you're doing and like me, I'm sure so many others are learning from these videos. You're definitely making science fun
@@becausescience A site called Mastenarium makes and sells witcher pendants from all schools using sterling or nickel silvers or black rhodium. Little expensive, but they look much better than he official medallion. Good stuff.
Hi Kyle, Thanks for making this video, loved it and love that you actually take the community suggestions to heart. I had another thought on how the witchers silver sword could work... We know that monsters come from a different world/realm to humans and other sapiens, through the conjunction of spheres they were trapped in the witcher world just like everyone else. Its possible that monsters are petro-chemical based life forms, in which case contacting silver would have some seriously nasty applications. Silver acts as a catalyst to several branches of petro-chemicals. The two that stand out are the production of formaldehyde (a very toxic substance) and the base chemical of plastic. It could be that the silver sword turns a monsters blood to formaldehyde, poisoning it, or causing the tissue to turn into a psudo-plastic around wound sites, preventing them from closing and cause a monster to bleed out! Thanks again, I'd totally toss you a coin for this one.
Kyle, could a werewolf's sensitivity to Silver be an allergic reaction? Remember, some people's immune systems react so violently that their own immune system kills them. (Like those who can't be anywhere in the same cafeteria if a peanut product was brought in, because the minute particles that become aerosolized is enough to trigger anaphylactic shock.)
You can see it as somewhat of an allergic reaction, I guess. Since Silver allegedly has magical "Holy" properties, It would produce a violent reaction when in contact with tissue affected by an extradimensional "unholy" curse like lycantropy is on the Witcher universe. (That's the best I could do to elaborate on your Idea based on the in-lore "science" from the books)
Funny thing is, I posted my reply and went to a work meeting. While on the meeting, I thought, "Maybe anaphylaxis or some similar mechanism could be at play with monster biology." So, yeah, the anti-microbial properties might not be the only thing at work. Now, why does Man get steel instead of silver? Because man is not worthy to be killed by a silver sword for the monster that he truly is. Besides, it would be a disservice to those monsters that do require silver to be killed.
@@jackielinde7568 Witchers have an Silver-coated Blade and a Meteorite-Steel Blade, BOTH for slaying monsters. They just use their Steel sword to fend off people because Silver swords are expensive AF and they don't want to waste their work tools on some random muggers or something. Witchers are specifically AGAINST killing people, are NOT trained in regular fencing or warfare and are taught to NEVER intervene on political quarrels, duels nor even crimes. That's one of the huge dillemas Geralt has in the books (and somewhat in the games) and is a recurring theme used as a character development device (as he struggles between maintaining neutrality and fighting for what he deems righteous). So I can't really comprehend how this gets so often overlooked by people.
@@VitorJTekkRodrigues Yeah, I have the games (and still working my way through the first one), so I'm well aware of it. But your comment reinforces the joke I was making: "Man's not worthy of being run through with a silver sword."
@@VitorJTekkRodrigues actually, in the books it's explained that the sword is not from meteorite steel. Geralt says in Season of Storms that it's all bullshit and the steel sword is just a well-crafted weapon made from regular steel, but Witchers like to tell stories about it so people think it's mystical. Also, the books literally describe fencing moves in detail during fight scenes, so I'm pretty sure Geralt is trained in fencing (though probably a specific style more fit for his improved reflexes)
This stuff is great man! Not only referring to the silver. Your way of making vids is awesome dude :) Gotta say I might love you :P Keep up the awesomeness dude!
How often would Geralt have to have the sword re-silvered? I would imagine that through wear and tear, the silver would over time come off. How fast would the silver fail to continue to adhere to the steel underneath or would that have more to do with how often he’s killing things?
Silver swords are more for fighting spectres and ghosts, beings with no physical bodies. They are also good against spells and whatnot. But monsters like dragons for example have hard scales and should be fought with steel. (This is not counting the games where Silver=mythical beasts and steel=anything else)
Its described as less of a sliver coating in the games at one point its stated that its a ribbed steel core with the silver casted around that and then hammered to form and sharpened as much as silver can be sharpened of course and that geralt constantly has to maintain it and sharpen it nearly every day for it to be useful in the books I believe
@@abdlhmdx in the books, if my memory is correct, you are right... Gerald mostly use steel sword than silver sword for most of monster... But for higher tier monster, such higher vampire or wraith, he use silver sword... He doesnt need silver to kill a ghoul or waterhag... That is why in netflix series, he only bring one sword on his back...
A few years ago I had a colostomy reversal, 2 weeks later I was diagnosed with lymphoma and silver was in everything used to close up the wound site, from bandages and sutures like Kyle mentioned and even a silver based antibiotic ointment.
Hey Kyle, love the show (not a meme dummy) There are two uses in medicine that I can think of when talking about silver We use silver nitrate (also called lunar caustic) for gonococic conjuntivitis in newborns. That's because silver in it's ionic form causes the precipitation of proteins and acts directly in the citoplasmatic membrane of the bacteria, which imediately kills the bacteria (bactericide effect) and then stops the growth of any remaining bacteria (bacteriostatic effect). And we also use silver sulfadiazine for burnt patients, especially those with deep second, third or even fourth (recently introduced to us) degree burns. The reason is because we really want to prevent the development of an infection, due to the skin as an inate barrier being broken in large extensions, which can lead to sepsis (systematic infection and um... death) if left untreated.
Sadly, my reasoning is closer to the Waco Kid's (sans the alcoholism) than Totes-not-alien-not-evil-genius-totes-is Kyle: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-W8RbYqZnFvE.html
@@coca_0146 Ever read any werewolf books where the ammunition is basically a paintball filled with a silver compound suspended in/delivered by a Cell-penetrating peptide? :D
Great show as always ;) Say the monsters had some kind of heightened healing factor, would the silver affect the cells that come to "heal" the area affected, interrupt that process, and stop the wounds from healing over? Would that also be a potential factor?
Nice, a suggestion for another witcher science video could be higher vampire specifically how Regis mentions in the last expansion that their blood changes their chemical composition when they transform, that or also a video on dimeritium the substance that can stop a mage's magical abilities. Anyway, great video and keep up the good work :)
@@borttorbbq2556 I meant like an explanation on why and/or how either one of those things could work, how when a vampire changes form so does their blood's chemical composition, i know it would be a very hypothetical and theory based video but I would enjoy it.
5:52 ... to the silver nitrate drops... ... never mind, that's no longer commonplace for newborns. Now hospitals use ocular antibiotics like erythromycin, since AgNO3 tends to irritate. Carry on, Kyle. Love the show ;)
Hey Kyle, loving these witcher videos! I love how you mentioned that in Witcher lore it's the silver sword specifically that hurts monsters. But there's a bit more to it than that. In the most recent Book, Geralt explains that the silver sword isn't made of 'normal' silver. It's from silver found in meteorites that have passed through the atmosphere post conjunction of spheres. Although he alludes that this makes them easier to hold 'magic', I think it could be something entirely different: What if this meteoroid-silver was actually an isotope of silver?
Hello Kyle and Nate, I'm so glad this topic has come up. While you have mentioned that Werewolves have a weakness to silver in this episode, you also neglected to mention that so do Vampires in some of the earlier lore for them which has sadly been glossed over as time has gone on when compared to the fame that Werewolves have for it, but its effects still remain in the stories even though they could be among us even now. Traditionally mirrors used to be backed by a thin layer of silver, where its purity wouldnt allow the "unclean" form of the undead to be visible in it, HOWEVER the modern method is to use aluminium which does not have the same properties meaning that a Vampire would appear in a modern mirror, while silver mirrors do still exist they are on a decrease due to aluminium being more cost effect and we know big business. So they could blend in perfectly fine in a nocturnal based social group, particularly if it was the Vampires being the ones pushing the transition from silver to aluminium. This would also extend to other uses of silver though, meaning that while they might not reveal themselves through a mirror, you do now have the option of creating your own holy water by dropping a bit of silver into your own canteen of water, or your own super soaker. Love the hair by the way Kyle.
@@Agilku117 Nah some silver swords in Witcher 3 had a V shaped guard. However in the first WItcher game this wasnt always the case. There are some V shaped guards for steel swords as well as some flat guards for Silver swords.
Wouldn't be more effective and low cost to use copper-alloy weapons? like bronze or brass that has antimicrobial properties, can be molded very easily, and can repaired fairly cheap. There is a reason why humanity have used copper in medicine for hundreds of years. Both silver and copper metals kill a broad spectrum of bacteria. Silver, however, must be in wet conditions to release the ions necessary to disrupt cell membranes. Even silver nanoparticles are not toxic unless silver ions are released, and to release these ions, silver must be in the presence of moisture. This isn't the case with copper. lets add the fact that there has been bronze swords in history that have lasted thousands of years and still exists in museums. So for a witcher that battles a lot, damages their equipment easily, and lives a lot compared to human years this could be a good alternative. But i have to admit the cool factor indicates that silver swords are better.
True, but you have to contextualize the 'why' people thought a material works a certain way to know how they use said material in fantasy. If they are running with the line of logic that 'this metal is holy,' they aren't going to divest from it until they understand the 'how' a certain material behaves. This is also akin to ship building in both fantasy and history. Wood naturally floats, so ships were made of wood for the longest time. It wasn't until the laws of buoyancy were better understood that metal could also be used in ship construction, and thus evolve how we create seafaring vessels in result. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume Copper-alloy weapons would be better suited for monster slaying due to their durability, but you'd be super hard pressed to convince the religious-isque community of the Witcher series to not prefer their 'holy metals' instead when fighting monsters.
"It's the most reflective" Keep your myths and science then, that is a good enough reason for me. As someone who has worked a bit of time washing dishes at a hotel, I've always been a bit amazed of how well silver polish can clean silver, it really is like those TV commercials. Doesn't matter if it's some imprint from food juices, improper storage from last season or even if the kitchen burnt the damn things (but sometimes we have to bring out the stronger stuff for that..), just scrub some silver polish and they nice and shiny again... So now after watching this video i guess it might have something to do with interactions with that oxidizing/anti-bacteria "aura" silver has.
I was about to make a joke about how it's just magic, but maybe you're right and everyone just thinks its magic. Sufficiently advanced technology and all that. Also, maybe monsters have a very severe allergy to silver. The sword blows could start anaphylactic shock and weaken them as the fight progresses, making it easier to kill them as time goes on. EDIT: and maybe the oils increase the monster's sensitivity/allergic reaction to the silver somehow
Hey Kyle, love the show, don't try to pronounce my name. "The presence of an opponent's sensitivity to silver can be of great help to a witcher wielding a silver sword. Certain creatures are less sensitive to silver than others, so increasing their sensitivity can only improve the chances of winning a fight against them. There are a few creatures out there who are not sensitive to silver and still fewer with a sensitivity to steel." is what the Witcher Wiki says about the subject, now this so called sensitivity sounds exactly like what you are describing since silver is not "destructive" towards magic and the like, that's the job of the metal called "dimeritium" although, it more inhibits the use of magic than hurts it, 'although although' if a magical beast's life was dependent on "magic" whatever it is then it would do the job. So what I'm saying is that while the episode is spot on, it almost couldn't be more spot on and anyone with a little trivia knowledge and an interest in the Witcher universe (which is commonly known to be more based on science than most other fantasy worlds) could put this together. \*continues to apologize for minutes, says something about not wanting to offend you or people who watch the show... etc\*
Maybe Chanyd Kish? :D (Ch from chocolate, a from car, á like y in try.... :D ) Sorry i think im butcher your name... My name also a hard one.. but not as yours.
I don't remember I it was in the books or in the games, but dimeritium was said to be very harmful to magic wielders via prolonged contact, having a permanent effect on them
Interesting note, I haven’t seen the Witcher yet. But when I saw you drawing the sword from your back, I was going to comment how impractical that is with a traditional sheath. But then I looked up image of the Witcher and saw he has a non-traditional sheath that would work for a back draw. Though the sheath wouldn’t protect his sword from the elements. Proper sword maintenance is important. Hope he enjoys polishing that silver sword to keep it from tarnishing.
As Kyle says at 7:30, they may actually want the silver to tarnish to make it more useful, so a sheath that doesn't protect the sword may actually be desirable. That said, it would make the sword a huge pain to maintain.
Rollo Chairbreaker Saw that, one of the more impractical designs you can do. But at least it works. As others like what you see Deadpool use would not.
I am in the last grade of high school. And I am writing a paper about the resistance of bacteria against antibiotics. Now after watching this video I can add this to my sources love it hahah. Ty Kyle love the show, I have wacht every video, I’m here from before you got your one channel. You have inspired me!
Great episode, Kyle. Micro-silver and silver nitrate are also used in dentistry to help fight caries. The silver nitrate solutions are actually ridiculously effective, but aren’t widely used because they stain your teeth black.
Hey Kyle! Love the show! *sigh* Now I would like to expand on the why. In many itterations of this weakness to silver (and in my humble opinion all of them) silver impedes the excellerated healing properties of the ”magick” creature and is not in and of it self poisonous. We know that normal healing in humans require a lot of cellular activity and that several different types of cells interact in complex ways to manage normal healing. I don’t think that an enzyme or a hormone could excellerate nomal cells to this degree, so it might be more plausable that a (in this case otherwordly) symbiotic microorganism handles the speedy recovery of damage and the silver oxide adheres to both parties and renders them unable to interact propperly. That is my take on this. /TheEntityQ Ps. I really do love the show. Keep up the great work :)
@@LightingbladeShen Male works with the "penetration" part of the joke... Yes, I know there are "appliances" to reverse the polarity, but that also makes the joke die a quiet death.
As promised, viewing from Kenya, ntaijadili baadaye mtandaoni. I'm interested in a metalurgy video...there must be some amazing things metals can do, that I don't know.
Hello to anyone who is reading this (thank you; I have a bunch of stuff to say)! First, I feel happy because this video aligns with my initials. Secondly, I feel even more happy because it's a cool video (wondered about the specifics of the oligodynamic effect). Third, pedantic note: E. coli and such don't have membrane-bound organelles. Fourth (really, I'll stop enumerating now), the oligodynamic effects of silver can apparently be increased with an electric field. Another way the sword could implant bacteriocidic silver would be if it had silver nanostructures embedded on it. Silver also has other very cool properties (some of which were mentioned). Its high conductivity means that it is often used in solar panels that Kyle DEFINITELY shouldn't greatly increase the use and efficiency of to increase renewable energy after conquering the world with super villain plans, scientists, and super nerds. He is NOT a super villain. (Although IF that was his plan, well, let's just say I WOULD support it with all of my fervor, but unfortunately he is not a super villain.) Perhaps the Witcher has a small solar panel on his sword? Silver nanotubes apparently increase photovoltaic efficiency. It is also quite reflective, allowing a witcher to see monsters in the reflection without much chromatic aberration. It is also useful in water purification, such as on the Mir space station and the ISS. Silver is also potentially nephrotoxic, so if a monster is poisonous/venomous and uses its kidneys to deal with its own toxins, that could be useful. Also, too much exposure to silver causes skin to turn slightly blue. It seems to me the Witcher has a slight blue tint on his skin (maybe it's just me). Lastly, we should try to get Kyle to restart Muskwatch! I know it's because of controversy and stuff, but I don't think it would do any harm and Our Ludicrous Future is fine and well! ru-vid.com/show-UCvUf_yOU_swE6PtOuv2yBqgfeatured
Hi Kyle, great show as ever! When you talk about being shot in the end you don't actually need a silver bullet and its antimicrobial properties in that situation. Gunshot wounds, even from normal bullets, are considered to be sterile wounds unless they are exposed to other contaminants. That happens because the surface of a bullet exiting a gun barrel can reach up to 300ºC in temperature, wich is more than enough to sterilize the bullet. At the same time, silver, being more maleable than steel, would probably deform and shatter upon impact, increasing the surface area of the bullet, and inflicting increased internal damage along the wound path.
0:12 i know this is nitpicking a bit too much, but steel swords and silver swords' guards doesnt have the same shape. Steel swords usually have a cross guard and silver ones have the "V" type of guard kyle shows. I dont remember it being explained either in the books or the games, but it may be due to the different kind of attacks that he expects to receive while using each weapon. A cross guard serves him well to block or deflect incoming sword attacks while a "V" guard could even potentially catch the beast's claws, disabling them to attack further. Other point of view would be to visually differentiate them when they're not in their corresponding sheath in order to pick up the right sword in case they get ambushed. Anyway, keep up the work Kyle!!
@@marz6770 yeah and some steel and sliver swords share the same style sheathe but it's also contradicted because sliver swords are slightly small and the proper witcher ones look way different from a steel on even if it had the same garud so I'd say it's to give the hand more room to move because he dodges monsters and parry's humans
