Conductors

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin during his experiments found that metals can conduct electricity through the lightning experiment. The concept of electrical potential was discovered by Alessandro Volta. The measure of the ability of metals to conduct electricity was put forward by the scientist Georg Simon Ohm.

The development in the field of conductors made several advancements in the science field. The conductors are the materials that can conduct electricity and heat by the transfer of these energies from one atom to another. In electrical conductors, the charge carriers such as ions and electrons present in the material will conduct electricity by exchanging the electrical energy from one atom to another. And in heat conduction, the transfer of thermal energy occurs from one atom to another.

What are Conductors?

By the application of electric current, the materials or substances that can transmit electricity through them are good conductors. It is because of the easy passage of electrical charge carriers such as electrons and ions. Good conductors of thermal energy mean they can exchange the thermal energy from one atom to another. Most of the metals(Copper, Aluminum) are found to be conducting and is because of their good conductivity. Conductivity means the substance's potential to allow heat or electricity. While non-metals are found to be non-conducting because of their less conductivity. And are given the name insulators. But some nonmetals such as graphite and water are favourable conductors. Also, some alloys are conducting(brass). Pure elemental silver is a promising electrical conductor. But the ability to corrode faster makes it less useful. It has been found that human beings are also good conductors of electricity.

Examples of conductor

Any material that is made of conducting material can pass charge from one particle to another. The classification of materials to conductors is made by artificial division. Most of the metals, ionic solutions, non-metal graphite, and water are conductors. Electrical conductivity always depends on the flow of electrons. Some marked electrical conductors are,

• Aluminium

• Platinum

• Bronze

• Water

• Mercury

• Iron

• Brass

• Platinum

• Copper

• Gold

Applications of Conductors

The conduction of current and heat made a marked use in the daily life activities of humans. As the conduction is responsible for the electricity at our house and cooking at our house. These two are important factors in human life. Without these things, the existence of humans is also absurd.

Some of the applications of these conductors on human life are discussed below.

• To make cooking utensils conducting materials are required to pass heat through them.

• In a thermometer, the metal mercury is used for testing temperature.

• Aluminium foils found application in the food wrapping.

• For manufacturing electrical equipment such as iron boxes, motors, explosion-proof enclosures, etc.

• In refrigerators, copper pipe is used.

• Electrical wires making copper and aluminium are used.

• For soldering.

• For the manufacture of spark plugs in vehicles.

What Are Insulators?

The non-conducting materials are insulators in which the flow of electrons is not possible. There is a barrier that exists between them and that makes it less conducting. Even though they are insulators it doesn't mean that they are not useful. They act as a protection against high voltage current and heat.

The electrons present on the atoms of these molecules are tightly bound so they are not readily available for passing electricity from one place to another. So the easy conduction of heat and electricity is not possible. The resistivity of conductors is high enough for the prevention of current passage. But there is no perfect insulator like a perfect conductor. Since they can be made conductive by the passage of high voltage or current. The application of a high voltage across the insulators can make the tightly bound electrons escape from the bonding. And the voltage applied is a breakdown voltage. Rubber-like polymers are affected by the application of large voltage or current. And these are employed for the insulation of electrical cables and wirings. An insulator in short can be described as the material that blocks and retard the flow of current because of its high resistivity.

Examples of insulators

Insulators cannot conduct electricity because of the strong bonding of electrons within the atoms. They have high resistivity upon the passage of current. Most of them are non- metals. Some of them are,

• Rubber

• Glass

• Quartz

• Air

• Ceramics

• Dry paper

• Porcelain

• Wood

• Oil

• Diamond

• Plastic

• Pure water

Applications of insulators

Insulators are non-conducting but humans are intelligent enough to make use of this difficulty. There are many applications for insulating materials. Some of them are discussed below,

• They can be used as a protection or covering against high voltage and high temperature.

• For ensuring safety insulators are used in electrical boards and circuits.

• Enables relieving the cost of energy.

• It helps in the soundproofing of appliances.

• Environmental protection by preventing the emission of pollutants.

• It is also used in the coating of electric shafts.

Differences Between Conductors and Insulators

Conductors and insulators are two important terms with entirely different characteristics. Some of the differences between conductors and insulators are discussed in the following table.

Conductors	Insulators
It enables electricity and heat to pass through them.	It will not pass electricity and heat through them.
The resistance is low so electrons are free to move.	Electrons are strongly bound so they are not easily available to move freely.
Thermal and electrical conductivity is high.	Electrical and thermal conductivity is high.
Conduction bands of conductors are full of electrons.	The conduction band of insulators is empty, with no electrons.
They are not able to store energy when kept in a magnetic field.	They can store energy when put in a magnetic field.
Its main use is in the manufacture of electrical equipment.	Its main use is in the insulation of electrical equipment in case of safety.
Electric charges are existing on the exterior of conductors.	No charges were found.
Almost all the metals are conductors such as Aluminum, Copper, Silver, etc.	Almost all the non-metals are insulators such as rubber, glass, porcelain, etc.

Conclusion

Conductors and insulators are two important terms in the science field. Because of its important applications. The discovery of conduction made human life better. As electricity and cooking are important for the existence of human life. Conductors can transmit current and heat through it while insulators are non-conductors of current and heat. It has been found that most of the metals are conducting and most of the non- metals are non-conducting because of the absence of free electrons on insulators. But the non-metals graphite and water are good conductors of electricity. Even though insulators do not conduct heat application is also essential for the proper functioning of conductors. Some examples of conductors are copper, silver, aluminium, etc. And some examples of insulators are rubber, glass, etc.

FAQs

1. Why are Aluminium wires preferred over copper in power cables?

Power cables are a large project so the need for the metal used for wiring is also high. Metals that have low cost will be preferred over costly metals in that case. As aluminium is an inexpensive metal compared to copper it is preferred over copper for the power cables.

2. Is gold a good conductor?

Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity and therefore it is used in electronics for connection. Such as USB cables.

3. Are metalloids good conductors?

They are not good conductors like metals and are not non-conductors like non-metals. So the property of conductivity of metalloids lies in between the properties of conductors and insulators.

4. Why is graphite a conductor?

Even though graphite is a non-metal it shows the property of conduction like metals. And are good conductors. This is because of the bonding present in this material. In graphite one carbon atom is bonded with three other carbon atoms. So the one valence electron present in graphite is found to be free. So the presence of this free electron makes graphite a good conductor of electricity. While that of diamonds the carbon atoms are tetrahedrally bound so no free electrons are found. And are insulators.

5. Is Neon a conductor?

Neon is a gaseous substance so they are not a good conductor of heat and electricity. They are insulators. All the gases are insulators as they possess less density compared to liquids and solids.