Old-fashioned film for cameras required mountains of silver. According to Merrill Lynch, an investment bank, photographic demand for silver has fallen by more than 60% in the past decade. Even in 2004, when the popularity of digital cameras was already well established, the photographic industry consumed 5,600 tonnes of silver, a fifth of total production. That compares with just 9% in 2009.

老式膠片需要大量使用白銀。據(jù)投資銀行美林公司的數(shù)據(jù)，過去十年攝影業(yè)的白銀需求量下降了六成以上。在2004年數(shù)碼相機(jī)已開始流行時，攝影業(yè)年白銀消費(fèi)量仍高達(dá)5 600噸，相當(dāng)于產(chǎn)量的二成。到2009年已下降到9%。

New uses for the metal plugged the gap left by film. Silver is widely used in electronics, whether in buttons for TVs, in membrane switches in computer keyboards or as a coating for CDs and DVDs. But the great hope for silver is the solar-power industry. Photovoltaic cells, the technology used in 70% of solar panels, contain silver. Although other technologies that do not use silver are on the rise, heavy government subsidies are forecast to help keep the solar industry growing.

新用途填補(bǔ)了膠片需求萎縮留下的空白。白銀被廣泛用于電子器件，包括電視按鈕、計(jì)算機(jī)鍵盤薄膜開關(guān)以及CD和DVD碟片涂層。但白銀的未來需求主要存在于太陽能產(chǎn)業(yè)。70%的太陽能面板使用含銀的光伏電池。盡管不使用白銀的技術(shù)正在不斷發(fā)展，但政府的大幅補(bǔ)貼預(yù)計(jì)仍將助太陽能產(chǎn)業(yè)蓬勃發(fā)展。

Demand for silver is likely to keep rising in developing countries in particular: China, which used to export the metal, now imports it. The same cannot be said for supply. As Michael Lewis of Deutsche Bank points out, three-quarters of the world’s supply comes as a by-product from copper, lead and zinc mines. So ramping up production is difficult. Total supplies of the metal in 2009, at 27,650 tonnes, were barely higher than in 2004. Athletes of the future may not feel quite so bad about taking home a silver medal.

發(fā)展中國家對白銀的需求可能持續(xù)上升。特別是中國，已由白銀出口國變?yōu)檫M(jìn)口國。供給方的情形則非如此。正如德意志銀行的邁克爾•劉易斯指出的，白銀供給中有三分之四是銅、鉛和鋅礦開采過程中的副產(chǎn)品。因此大幅增加產(chǎn)量并不容易。2009年，白銀總供給量為27 650噸，只比2004年略高?；蛟S未來運(yùn)動員拿塊銀牌回家也不會感到多沮喪了。