This article is about Types of Conductors
Definition
(Types of Conductors)
Every material is different by its characteristics and property. There are some materials which have electrically charged particles which are called free electrons, these free electrons can move freely inside the conductors. When these materials are connected to the circuit or battery these electrons start moving and allow electricity or electric current to flow. Materials are divided into conductor, semiconductor, insulator depending on its conductivity.
If the mobility of electron is high in the materials it is called conductor, while the low mobility of electron in the materials is known as insulators. based on conductivity, the conductors are divided into the good conductor and bad conductor
what is electrical conductor
In physics and electrical engineering Electrical conductor is the materials which allow the electric current to flow in one or more direction. Negative charge particles generate electric current, positive hole or ions also generate electric current in some cases. Conduction materials include metals, electrolytes, superconductor, semiconductor, plasmas and nonmetallic conductors such as graphite and conductive polymers
the materials in which the free electron is high, and the electrical charge flows easily in them. The materials qin which the electric current flow Easly is known as good conductor.
Example of conductor’s materials
The electrical conductor allow the electric charge to move freely in the materials. This proper ty is called conductivity of the materials. These materials offer less opposition the the electrical charges to move.
Types of Conductors
Metals (Types of Conductors)
Metals play an impotent rule in conduction. Examples are the wiring used in a house is cooper wire or ally which is a good conductor. The electric plugs use metals as conductors. Electric iron uses metals as their conducting materials. Metals are used as a conductor because they have a lot of free electrons. Some best metal conductors are silver (Ag), copper (Cu), Gold (Au).
The free electron in the materials, higher will be its conductivity, silver is better conductor than copper because it has free electron but its costly than the copper. Aluminum is also a good conductor. Its conductivity is less than the copper it is use in the combination with the copper.
The batteries which are used in silver oxide are used in watches hearing aids. Because its weight is low.
Nonmetals
(Types of Conductors)
There are also some nonmetals which are good conductors, such as carbon in the form of graphite is a good conductor of electricity. In the structure of graphite only four atoms make a bond. One electron is unbonded.
Ionic conductors
(Types of Conductors)
The conductor which is a solution form is called ionic conductor, such as saltwater is an ionic form of conductor which is a good conductor. Ionic conductivity is the measure of conduction of the substance towards conduction. It is denoted by lambda. Ions have fixed position in solid but in some solid there are some ions which are free to move and responsible for conduction. The mobility of ions in the solid is increases with temperature.
Application
- It is used in batteries such as solid-state batteries, super capacitor, solid oxide fuel cells.
- It is used in sensors.
- It is used in flexible electronics.
- It is used in complex and variable environments.
Advantage
- High conductivity: it is high conductivity which makes it very useful in different applications where current density is required to be high.
- Wide range of applications: it is used in a wide range of applications which include batteries, sensors and fuel cells.
- Low operation temperature: it can operate at a very low temperature as compared to other types of conductors which makes it efficient.
Disadvantage
- Limited stability: it can be unstable in some condition which can limit their operation in some application.
- Limited durability: it is degraded over time which reduces its lifespan.
- Limited availability: some of the ionic conductors are very rare to find and it can reduce its availability and the cost also increases.
Semiconductor
Insulator is not the same as conductor. Conductors are the materials which is responsible for the conduction of electricity in other words the conductor provide the easier path to flow the charges.in the case of insulator, insulator are the materials which do not allow the electrical charges to flow freely in it. The efficiency of the insulator is determined based on how much resistance it provides to the flow of electricity. This property is known for its resistivity.
Semiconductors are the materials which come in the middle of conductor and insulator. Semiconductors are not good conductors, but they can be a good conductor by doping. Some semiconductors are Germanium (Ge) and silicon (Si). Semiconductor are divided in two types which N type semiconductor and P type semiconductor.
Properties of insulator
- Insulators are poor conductor Example of insulator are, wood, plastic, glass, rubber and air.
- It Is very high resistivity
- It does not allow electrical charges to flow easily because the valance electron is tightly bound together which does not allow free electron to move easily
N type semiconductor
A n type semiconductor is the type of extrinsic semiconductor doped with the pentavalent impurity. in the valence shell of Pentavalent impurity has five electrons. This impurity is added to the N-Type semiconductor to increase the number of electrons, so it increases conductivity of the materials.
Properties
- In n type of semiconductor, the majority carriers are electrons.
- The minority carriers are holes on n type semiconductor.
- The common dopant in n type semiconductor is phosphorus and arsenic.
- Its doner energy level is close to the conduction band.
- Its doner energy level is away from the valance band.
- The electron density is greater than hole density in n type semiconductor.
- Electron mobility is higher than the hole.
Advantage
- It Is high electron mobility.
- It is low hole mobility.
- Its thermal stability is high.
- Its electrical conductivity is high.
- It is high efficiency in hole.
Disadvantage
- The cost of production is high.
- It is sensitive to temperature and radiation.
- It is highly sensitive to impurities.
- It is sensitive to moisture.
P type semiconductor
P type semiconductor is the type of semiconductor. When an impurity of trivalent is added to the intrinsic or pure semiconductor, then it is known as p type semiconductor. The trivalent impurity is boron, aluminum etc. which is added to the intrinsic semiconductor and the intrinsic or pure semiconductor is silicon or germanium.
The trivalent impurities like gallium (Ga), boron (B), indium (In) etc. are called the accepter impurity. Usually, semiconductors are materials that do not conduct electricity because they do not have free electron, but they are not highly resistive. Metalloids such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), Arsenic (As) and a few more elements are commonly used for the main body of semiconductors. These elements fall in between insulator and conductor therefore it is called semiconductor.
To flow electric current in the materials there must be an electron hole in the materials to move electron into. In p type semiconductor there are more holes in the electron. And this allows the current to flow in the materials from hole to hole, but this current is a one direction.
Properties of P type semiconductor
- The majority carries in semiconductors are hole.
- The minority carriers in p type of semiconductor are electron.
- It accepts energy level is close to valence bond.
- Its accepter energy level is away from conduction bond.
- The hole density of p type semiconductor is greater than the electron density.
- The electron mobility in p type semiconductor is lower than the hole.
Advantage
- It is high hole mobility.
- It is low electro mobility.
- Its thermal stability is high.
- Its electrical conductivity is high.
- It is very efficient in solar cells.
Disadvantage
- Its production cost is very high.
- It is highly sensitive to temperature and radiation.
- It is sensitive to impurities.
- It is highly sensitive to moisture.
Properties of electrical conductor
- Flowing of electron and ions
- Zero electric field
- Zero charge density
- Free charge will only exist on the surface of the conductor
The appliances which are used in electrical applications are made from metals because it can pass electrical charges.
Advantage of conductor
- Its electrical resistance is low.
- Its electrical conductivity is high.
- Lower in cost.
- Its thermal stability is high.
Disadvantage of conductor
- It is highly sensitive to corrosion.
- It is highly sensitive to mechanical stress.
- It is highly sensitive to temperature changes.
- It is highly sensitive to electromagnetic interference.
Super conductor
When electric field and electrical resistance is expelled from the materials is known is superconductor. Superconductors are the materials which do not resist electric current flowing in it. That super conductor does not have bounder electron it only has free electron. The phenomenon was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh onnes, he was the Dutch scientist. The conductor is cooled below threshold temperature they electrical resistance and become the superconductor. Superconductor are classified by many criteria which as.
- Response to the magnetic field
- Theory of operation
- Critical temperature
- By materials
Properties of super conductor
- Infinite conductivity: super conductors have infinite conductivity.
- Magnetic field expulsion: the magnetic field lines do not penetrate to the body of superconductor.
- Critical temperature: it is a temperature in which the materials change their behavior to from conductor to superconductor.
- Persistent current: in superconductors the current carries on for a long period of time.
- Critical current: when in super conductor when the value of current increased from a critical value the superconductor becomes a conductor.
Advantage of superconductor
- Lossless transmission: Superconductors are the materials which can transmit electricity without resistance, that as the zero-energy loss in the transmission.
- Efficient energy storage: it can increase energy storage efficiency.
- Improve medical diagnosis: it is used in MRI machines to produce uniform magnetic field to help in diagnosis.
- Telecommunication: it can be used to increase the efficiency and reliability of phones.
Disadvantage of superconductor
- Low critical temperature: it needs cooling below a certain temperature, which makes it unusable for many applications.
- High cost: it is expensive because it needs colling which makes it costly.
- Brittleness: it can break easily.
Some examples of superconductors are niobium, cuprite, magnesium and diboride.
Frequently asked question FAQs
Q 1: what is the inverse of conductance?
Ans: the inverse of conductance is resistance.
Q 2: electric wires made from?
Ans: electric wires are made from copper.
Q 3: list some insulators?
Ans: Glass, Plastic and Air are examples of insulators.
Q 4: list some conductors?
Ans: copper, aluminum, silver and gold are good conductors of electricity.
Q 5: Is wood conductor or insulator?
Ans: wood is a good insulator.