Conductors and their types

The ability of the materials to pass electricity through them is known as conductivity. Depending on the conductivity, materials are classified as:

conductors, insulators and superconductors.

Materials with good mobility of electrons are known as conductors

• Some examples of conductors of electricity are:

??? - Copper

- Aluminum

??? - Silver

??? - Gold

??? - Graphite

??? - Platinum

??? - Water

??? - Human Body

An electrical conductor allows the electric charges to flow through them easily. The property of conductors to “conduct” electricity is called conductivity. Such materials offer less opposition or “resistance” to the flow of charges. Conducting materials allows easy charge transfer because of the free movement of electrons through them.

Types of Conductors:

1- Metals:

Most conducting materials used for practical applications are metals. For example, the wire around your house probably uses copper as conducting materials or alloys.

The electric plugs have metal in them, and the internal mechanism of your electric irons also uses metals as their conducting material. This is because metals have lots of free electrons and promote mobility. Some of the best metal conductors are Silver (Ag), Copper (Cu) and Gold (Au).

2- Non – Metals:

There are some non-metals which are excellent conductors of electricity.

For example, carbon in the form of graphite is an excellent conductor of electricity. If you see the structure of graphite, only three of the four carbon atoms are used for bonding. This leaves one electron free for bonding.

However, most non-metals are not good conductors of electricity.

3- Ionic Conductors:

Ionic conductivity : is a measure of a substance's tendency towards ionic conduction. Ionic conduction is the movement of ions.

Conductors in their solution form are called ionic conductors. For example, saltwater is an ionic solution and is a good conductor of electricity.

4- Semiconductors:

Is any of a class of crystalline solids intermediate in electrical conductivity between a conductor and an insulator.

semiconductors are not as good at conducting electricity as conductors, they still have their uses. Examples of semiconductors are Germanium (Ge) and Silicon (Si).

Types of Semiconductors:

Semiconductors can be classified as follows:

- Intrinsic Semiconductor : is made to be very pure chemically. It is made up of only a single type of element.

- Extrinsic Semiconductor : semiconductors that are doped with specific impurities, ?

They are two types :

N-type Semiconductor , P-type Semiconductor