AtD (37) p.1059-1062. Other possibilities,Time Past, silver and a snowball

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

          MK:
          give me 500 words on silver in AtD, cause I need 'em to understand.

Well, first off— Silver wire "sounds" "brighter" than copper alloys. Gold? 
Really only useful in electronics due to its resistance to corrosion, 
thus gold termination on Monstrous cables and suchlike.

Now silver & Photography/Alchemy—Merle could [and should] write a book. . . .

You want cause & effect, well alright. . . .howzabout 815 words?

          The chemicals and principles to “fix” the images on a medium 
          had been around since the dawn of time, however it was not 
          until Johann Heinrich Schulze, noticed that silver salts became 
          darker when exposed to light that the science of photography 
          took off. Sadly for him he did not think of applying this new 
          found knowledge to photography..but others would.

          Later Thomas Wedgwood treated leather with silver salts and 
          was able to produce images of leaves which he placed on the 
          leather and exposed to light. But he was not able to stop the 
          darkening process. In pre digital photography days we would say 
          that he needed to “fix” the image.

http://www.black-and-white-to-color.com/html/history_of_photography.html

First off, how seriously does Pynchon weigh the debasement of 
metaphysical silver in his distaste for photography?

          Moon (Alchemical silver):
          The traditional a strological glyph for the moon, and one 
          of the alchemical symbols for silver. In the Hermetic 
          sciences, the moon represented the feminine, liquid, 
          passive principle- alchemical Mercury. The hieros 
          gamos, or divine marriage, is the combining of the 
          solar and lunar principals to form the divine 
          androgyne- the highest form of spiritual attainment.

          http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/symbols/bldefsmoon.htm

Note that Merle, the alchemist is taking the photographic process to 
logical extremes and, seeing that silver seems to have a life of its 
own, that life gets more fully examined in the integroscope.

          Physical Characteristics and Uses of Silver

          Silver is the whitest metallic element. It is rare, strong, corrosion 
          resistant, and unaffected by moisture, vegetable acids, or alkalis. 
          Silver is also resonant, moldable, malleable, and possesses the 
          highest thermal and electric conductivity of any substance. The 
          chemical symbol for silver is Ag, from the Latin argentum, which 
          means white and shining. Although silver does not react to many 
          chemicals, it does react with sulfur, which is always present in the 
          air, even in trace amounts. The reaction causes silver to tarnish, 
          therefore, it must be polished periodically to retain its luster.

          Silver possesses many special physical characteristics and qualities 
          that make it useful in a variety of industries. The photography 
          industry is the biggest user of silver compounds. Silver forms the 
          most light-sensitive salts, or halides, which are essential to 
          developing high-quality photography. Silver has the highest 
          electrical conductivity per unit volume of any metal, including 
          copper, so it is used extensively in electronics. Specialized uses 
          include switch and relay contacts for automobile controls and 
          accessories, automotive window heating, and in electrodes for 
          electrocardiograms.

          Silver is one of the strongest oxidants, making it an essential 
          catalyst for the chemical process industry. It is used in the 
          production of adhesives, dinnerware, mylar recording tape, 
          and many other products. Silver is the most reflective of all 
          metals, and is used to coat glass in mirrors. It is also used in 
          x-ray vacuum tubes and as material for bearings. With the 
          highest level of thermal conductivity among metals 
          and resistance to combustion and sparks, silver is a 
          valuable material for a range of other industrial processes. 
          The most common consumer application of silver is its use 
          in jewelry. Pure silver, which would be too soft to be durable, 
          is mixed with 5-20% copper in an alloy known as 
          sterling silver

          http://www.answers.com/topic/silver

Maybe Tommy Boy just hates seeing all that silver dumped into the waters
thanks to too many photos snapped.

           Less Silver Pollution Thanks to Digital Photography
           by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 12.13.05
           FASHION & BEAUTY (chemical sensitivity) 
		
           We had thought about the potential environmental benefits of 
           digital photography a few times in the past, but had forgotten 
           the idea until recently when a few news items about it passed 
           through the wire. Two articles in particular - Swedish Capital 
           Sees Less Silver Pollution Thanks to Digital Photos and Digital 
           Photography Reduces Pollution - report the claim of experts 
           that digital photography has helped reduce silver pollution in 
           the water of Sweden's capital. "Tests have shown that silver 
           levels have dropped by more than half in five years in the waters 
           of the Stockholm archipelago." More digital photography means 
           that there is less developing of conventional silver-halide film, 
           and nowadays at least 90% of all cameras sold in Sweden 
           are digital. "Helena Parkman of the Swedish Environmental 
           Board said silver ions can be more toxic to water organisms 
           than mercury. Silver in its metallic form is far less toxic." So 
           all you digital photographers out there, know that you may 
           have helped to fight silver pollution without even being aware of it. 
           ::Associated Press via ENN, ::SR International

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/less_silver_pol.php

          Radiation Shielding 
          Thin layers of shielding materials such as tantalum or silver can be 
          bonded to other structural metals or components. This has been a 
          cost-effective method of providing radiation shielding to satellites. 

http://www.pacaero.com/pdf/resourcecenter/Data%20Sheet%20-%20Bonded%20Metals.pdf