Beatrice Lang
Conductivity is the property of a material that allows electricity to flow through it. Materials with high electron mobility are known as conductors, while those with low electron mobility are referred to as insulators. Insulators are poor conductors of electricity and include materials such as wood, paper, plastic, rubber, glass, and cloth. Even the human body is a poor conductor of electricity. Researchers at Liverpool University in the UK have created a material with the worst heat transfer of virtually any solid material. This material has the lowest thermal conductivity of any inorganic solid and is nearly as poor a conductor of heat as air.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Materials that do not permit the flow of electrical current | Wood, paper, glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood |
| Ability to transmit energy | Low |
| Ability to transmit current | Low |
| Ability to allow the movement of charged particles | Low |
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What You'll Learn
Insulators like glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood
Insulators are materials that do not permit the flow of electrical current due to their low electron mobility. They are essential in safeguarding us from the potentially harmful effects of electricity passing through conductors.
Glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood are all examples of insulators. Glass, for instance, is commonly used in electrical wiring insulation, insulating windows, and protecting against electrical shocks or short circuits. It is also used in power transmission lines and as an insulator in telegraph lines.
Plastic is another widely used insulator. It is often employed in electrical enclosures and cases for electrical components. The plastic covering on cables allows for safe handling. Additionally, plastic, in the form of epoxy plastic and fibreglass, is used in printed circuit boards to provide an insulating layer for electronic devices.
Rubber is a flexible and durable insulator with proven insulation resistance. It is commonly used in electrical safety mats placed near high-voltage equipment. Rubber is also used to make electrical insulation tape, which insulates electrical wires and other conductive materials.
Wood was one of the first materials used as an insulator in telegraph lines. However, it was found to give very poor results, especially during damp weather.
Air is also an insulator, although in some high-voltage systems, liquid insulator oil is used to replace air to prevent electrical breakdown.
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Semiconductors like germanium and silicon
Semiconductors are materials that have four valence electrons and conduct electricity to a small degree. Germanium and silicon are examples of semiconductors. They are unique in that they can be insulators, conductors, or semiconductors, depending on conditions such as temperature and voltage.
Germanium and silicon are poor conductors of electricity because they have a high resistance to electrical current. Materials with high resistance have low conductivity. Germanium and silicon's resistance to electrical flow is due to their strong electron bonds. In insulators, the electrons are strongly bonded to their atoms, and cannot move freely to nearby atoms. This prevents the flow of electricity.
Materials with high electron mobility are known as conductors, while those with low electron mobility are referred to as insulators. Conductors, such as metals, have a simple electron flow. The more free electrons in a metal, the greater its conductivity. Silver, for example, is an excellent conductor due to its high number of movable atoms.
Germanium and silicon are distinct from typical conductors and insulators in that they can be manipulated to behave differently under certain conditions. For example, at extremely low temperatures, certain elements can become superconductors, offering no resistance to the flow of electrons. Germanium and silicon can also be made to conduct electricity when the voltage is high enough.
In summary, germanium and silicon are poor conductors of electricity due to their high resistance to electrical current. However, their conductive properties can be altered by changing conditions such as temperature and voltage.
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Poor conductors at low voltage
Poor conductors of electricity, also known as insulators, are materials with low electron mobility. They make it difficult for electrons to move smoothly between atoms. Materials that have strongly bonded electrons in their atoms are called insulators. These electrons can't just go around and share space with nearby atoms.
Materials like glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood are used as insulators. We are shielded by insulators from the potentially harmful effects of electricity passing through conductors. Electrical circuits can occasionally have dangerously high voltage levels. Even materials that aren't typically thought of as good conductors can be made to conduct electricity when the voltage is high enough. Several types of electrical bad conductors include plastic, rubber, cloth, polythene, and wood.
The poor conductivity of a material is characterised by its high resistance to the flow of electricity. Materials with high resistance have low conductivity. For example, the dielectric spacer separating the conductors in a coaxial cable might be treated as lossless for short lengths at low frequencies. However, the loss of the cable for long lengths and higher frequencies is typically significant and must be taken into account. In this case, the material is considered a poor conductor due to the significant loss, despite it being treated as an ideal dielectric in most other respects.
Covalent compounds, such as oxygen and nitrogen, are also poor conductors of electricity. These compounds are made up of molecules that share valence electrons, leaving no free electrons to conduct electricity. Additionally, high temperatures can negatively impact the conductivity of good conductors, causing them to conduct electricity poorly.
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Pure elements vs alloys
The conductivity of a material is its ability to transmit current or the movement of charged particles, most often protons. Materials that carry the flow of electrical current are called conductors, while those that do not are called nonconductors or insulators. Materials with high electron mobility are known as conductors, while those with low electron mobility are referred to as insulators.
Pure elements such as silver, copper, gold, platinum, zinc, nickel, iron, and lead are all conductors of electricity. Silver is the best conductor of electricity because it has a higher number of movable atoms (free electrons) and the highest thermal conductivity of any element. However, copper and gold are used more often in electrical applications because copper is less expensive and gold has a much higher corrosion resistance.
Alloys are a combination of two or more metals or a metal with a non-metal. Brass, steel, and bronze are examples of alloys that are electrical conductors. Brass is a tensile metal that is easy to bend and mold into different parts, making it useful for smaller machines. Steel is an alloy of iron that is typically used to encase other conductors because it is inflexible and highly corrosive when exposed to air. Bronze is another electrically conductive alloy.
While pure elements and alloys can both be electrical conductors, the presence of impurities or other elements in alloys can decrease their conductivity. For example, brass contains copper but other materials in its makeup reduce its conductivity. Similarly, sterling silver is not as good a conductor as pure silver, and oxidized silver is a worse conductor than untarnished silver. Additionally, the size and shape of a substance affect its conductivity, with larger and longer substances having higher conductivity.
In conclusion, both pure elements and alloys can be electrical conductors, but the type of material, presence of impurities, and physical characteristics will affect their conductivity.
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Impurities decreasing conductivity
The conductivity of a material is its ability to transmit current or the movement of charged particles, most often protons. Materials with high electron mobility are referred to as conductors, while those with low electron mobility are called insulators. Metals are some of the best conductors of electricity, with silver being the best due to its high number of movable atoms (free electrons). Other good conductors include copper, gold, platinum, and aluminium.
On the other hand, materials like glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood are used as insulators as they make it difficult for electrons to move smoothly between atoms. Even the human body can be conductive under certain conditions, such as when receiving an electric shock.
The conductivity of a material can be influenced by various factors, including the presence of impurities. As impurities are introduced, the crystal lattice of the material can become distorted, impeding the drift velocity and resulting in decreased mobility. Consequently, the overall electrical conductivity of the material decreases with an increase in impurities. This relationship between impurities and conductivity is not linear, however, when considering resistivity (the reciprocal of conductivity), a linear correlation can be observed.
While the addition of impurities generally leads to reduced conductivity, certain materials known as semiconductors exhibit unique behaviour. Semiconductors, such as germanium and silicon, possess four valence electrons and can become conductive when exposed to high voltages. In these cases, the presence of impurities can actually enhance their conductivity, allowing them to act as efficient conductors of electricity.
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Frequently asked questions
Materials with low electron mobility are referred to as insulators or bad conductors of electricity. Examples of insulators include wood, paper, glass, plastic, rubber, air, and cloth.
Materials with strongly bonded electrons in their atoms are called insulators. These electrons are unable to move smoothly between atoms.
Materials that are bad conductors of electricity can be used as insulators to protect us from the harmful effects of electricity passing through conductors. For example, the rubbery layer on wires acts as an insulator to keep us from being exposed to the conductor inside.
