I found a new creative way silver has been used in industrial apps.

I am pretty sure that the copper is the conductor and the silver plating is the keep the copper from oxidizing. Thus allowing for good contact?

 

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Electrical conductors conduct electricity ONLY on the surfaces. That is why you are safe (relatively, at least) in a car or plane when hit by lightening. However, there is another reason for silver surfaces. Connections are made on the surfaces and silver makes better contact. Even better connections can be made with gold as used in most computers.

 

Why Are Copper Bus Bars Plated? - PRV Engineering Blog
blog.prv-engineering.co.uk/why-are-copper-bus-bars-plated/

 

Busbars may be connected to each other and to electrical apparatus by bolted, clamped, or welded connections. Often, joints between high-current bus sections have precisely-machined matching surfaces that are silver-plated to reduce the contact resistance. At extra high voltages (more than 300 kV) in outdoor buses, corona discharge around the connections becomes a source of radio-frequency interference and power loss, so special connection fittings designed for these voltages are used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busbar

 

My point is. The silver coating on the outside of the copper material is to slow down the corrosion of the copper externally. The thickness of the combined copper is what carries the volts. How is this important to this topic. The plating build up is so little that over the full length of the rolls you are seeing as I'm sure way less then even one oz of silver. Socks with silver strands for diabetics use more silver. Solar panels, ect. There is a large industrial use for silver yes. Probably not much in the bus bar world. Also important to note. Tin is widely used to protect the copper over silver. Just my opinion based on my experience as a machinist and with some research. Thanks for the post. What do I know anyways. According to my wife very little. Happy stacking.

 

I took a shot off a spark plug wire once. Not as bad but I can still "feel" it 15 years later when I talk about it.

 

That reminds me of a couple;

Next door neighbor used to have a motor repair shop - mostly lawn mowers. Their son worked there most of the time I was around. He used to start the mowers up and grab the spark plug when he wanted to stop them.

Another neighbor brought the scooter he had built to the school parking lot (a couple hundred yards from my house) to test it. Started it up and got on. He sat right on the spark plug!