Keep reading! Conductors are the materials that allow electric current or sometimes heat to pass through them. Hence becoming electrically conductive in nature. Not to mention, materials that are primarily made of metals are the best available conductors.
Conversely, Graphite is the only non-metal that can conduct electricity. In conductors, free electrons can move freely anywhere inside a conducting material. Because there is an overlapping between the valence band and conduction band of the material.
Therefore, as a result, there is no forbidden gap between the layers of the atomic structure of the conductors. Just because the conductors have very high conductivity, they have very low resistance. In other words, due to low resistance, electrons can move freely inside a conductor, of course, when a potential difference is applied across them. We will talk about examples of conductors in the later section. There are so many properties of conductors.
However, at the equilibrium condition, an electrical conductor shows the following properties. As I have mentioned in the conductor vs insulator tabular part, the resistivity of the conductor can vary from low to high. Therefore, based on the conductor definition due to its resistivity, they can be bifurcated into two categories. These are:. Not to mention, the best conductor of electricity is silver. However, silver is not the most ideal choice for making a conducting material.
Because it is too expensive to be used for common purposes. Apart from silver being a good conductor of electricity, here is the list of the top 10 examples of conductors in daily life. Conductors are quite useful in our day-to-day life. In other words, you can see so many real-life applications of conductors around yourself. Here is a list of conductors which are the most used ones.
If the atoms of a material have tightly knit electrons, the material proves to be a bad conductor or an insulator. Nonetheless, both conductors and insulators are important for us especially when it is about handling electric appliances.
Switches, sockets and electric plugs are made up of conductors. While, insulators like rubber and plastics are used for making the outer cover of switches, electric wires, sockets and other electrical appliances. Skip to content There are different types of elements in our surroundings. What is Conductor? What is Insulator? While an insulator does not let electric current or heat to travel through it.
Insulators have strong molecular bonds. While molecular bonds are very weak in conductors. Insulators have very low conductivity.
While in conductors, it is very high. Insulators have a very high resistance and therefore the electrons are held together very firmly.
The conductors, on the other hand, have a very low resistance. Insulators do not have any electric field , neither inside nor on the surface. While in conductors, it is found on the surface and continues to be zero in the inner part of the conductor. It has free-flowing electrons. It is used to limit the current to the desired path. Symbol of Conductor and Insulator. When the conductor connects to other electrical power devices in the electrical circuit, it forms a closed circuit.
When the insulator connects to the other electrical power devices, the current will not flow in the circuit. This circuit works as an open circuit. Read More : Difference between the Closed and Open circuit. These are the top 12 differences between the electrical conductor and the insulator.
Hope each point is clear. Feel free to comment if you have any doubt. DipsLab is the fastest growing and most trusted community site for Electrical and Electronics Engineers. If you like what you are reading, please consider buying me a coffee or 2 as a token of appreciation. I have completed master in Electrical Power System. This will help me to continue my services and pay the bills. Dipali Chaudhari. Sharing my knowledge on this blog makes me happy.
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