A material's ability to conduct electric current or thermal energy by any means.
Questions tagged [conductivity]
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Electrical conductivity of graphite
On this Wikipedia page, the electrical conductivity of various materials are given in the third column ($\sigma \text{ (S/m) at 20}^\circ \text{C}$). I am interested in the entry for Carbon (graphite):
$2$ to $3 \times 10^5 \text{ S/m} \perp…
Andrew
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Is "Sulfuric acid... makes a poor electrolyte... very little of it will dissociate into ions" really true? What does that actually mean?
While researching chromate conversion coating for edits to this answer in Space Exploration SE, I came upon the following passage in Corrosion Resistance of Stainless Steel to Sulfuric Acid
Sulfuric acid is quite corrosive in water although it…
uhoh
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Conductivity as a function of acid concentration
I have conducted an experiment measuring the conductivity of both hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid in solution respectively, with varying concentration. Wikipedia as well as a question on the site suggests a $\sqrt{c}$ relationship is viable.…
user1997744
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Why is it that the least reactive metals are the best electrical conductors?
Silver, Gold and Platinum are amongst the best conductors of electricity, but also the amongst the most unreactive. Since electrical conductivity depends on the number of delocalized electrons (along with resistivity), if an element gives up its…
Razorlance
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What is the difference between molar conductance and molar conductivity?
I'm learning (or at least trying to learn) about electrochemistry, but a major obstacle to that, is that different books I refer use different terms for the same symbols. So in a last ditch attempt to clear stuff up, I've resorted to Chem.SE.
So…
paracetamol
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Choice of doping elements in semiconductors
In a typical semiconducting material, we start with silicon (group IV) and introduce atoms of group V or group III depending on whether we are constructing an n- or p-type semiconductor respectively.
Why is it optimal to choose doping atoms one…
SimonS
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Why does the graph of the electrical conductivity of sulfuric acid/water solutions have this knee in the ~85%-~92% range?
This answer to an earlier question regarding the electrical conductivity of sulfuric acid provides a graph showing the conductivity of sulfuric acid/water mixtures ranging from 0% to 100% sulfuric acid:
(Image by Horace E. Darling in "Conductivity…
Vikki
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How does conductivity work for non-redoxed ions?
Related (very similar, but here I want a mechanism) https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/21827/7433
By the Kohlrausch law, all ions contribute to the conductivity of an electrolyte.
Now, as I understand it, the mechanism of conduction in an…
ManishEarth
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Why is copper a better conductor than iron?
Metals are good conductors as the electrons in their outer shell are loose and can plunge out of the atom with the application of the slightest force (voltage).
Silver is the best metallic conductor, then comes copper.
Why is one metal better at…
MartianCactus
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Does an electrically conductive gas exist at room conditions?
As I know, the gases are insulators, because their particles are mainly electrically neutral, and thus there is no movable charges in them.
But maybe it shouldn't be always so, for example if a gas has a significant proportion of charged particles,…
peterh
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Is there any electronic component to water conductivity?
Answers to Decrease in temperature of a aqueous salt solution decreases conductivity indicate that the electrical conductivity of salt solutions arises from the mobility of ionic species and therefore the temperature dependence of conductivity is…
uhoh
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Why are isotopically pure diamonds 50% more thermally conductive than other diamonds?
A laboratory grown type-IIa diamond (no nitrogen defects) has a lambda of $\pu{1800-2200 W/mK}$, but an isotopically pure diamond of $\ce{^{12}C}$ can have up to $\pu{3320 W/mK}$.
Why are $\ce{^{12}C}$ diamonds so much more thermally conductive than…
Ada Diamonds
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Does the delocalization of p-orbitals ensure conductivity?
For example, polyacetylene is a conjugated system, i.e. with de-localized p-orbitals, but accroding to Chiang et. al. (1977) polyacetylene is semiconducting, and becomes conductive only when doped with Cl/Br/I/AsF5.
Isn't the conjugation alone…
Sparkler
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Why are ionic compounds bad conductors of electricity in solid state?
I understand the fact that ionic compounds are good conductors of electricity in molten state. But why aren't they good conductors in solid state. Cannot ions vibrate about their mean position and transfer electricity in the same way as they…
the_random_guy42
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Why do we do electrolysis and electroplating using warm electrolyte?
This is a pretty basic question, and I know it has something to do with conductivity, but I'm not quite sure how they are related.
IAmBlake
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