Conducting Materials - Physics - Semester 2

                                                 Conducting Materials
* The Conduction material has large number of conduction electron (free to move under the influence of an electric field).
* They conduct electricity when an electric potential difference is applied across them.
* Conduction electron or Free electron are responsible for the most of the property of metals such as Electrical conduction, Thermal conduction, etc.

Properties of Conducting Material:

* High Electrical and Thermal (Heat) conductivities.
* At steady state, they obey Ohm’s Law (V=IR)
* They obey Widemann – Franz Law (K/α = LT)
* They exhibit the phenomenon of superconductivity.

Classification of Conducting Material:

• Zero Resistivity Material (Super Conductor)
• Low Resistivity Material (Semi-Conductor)
• High Resistivity Material (Insulator)

Zero Resistivity Material:

· Superconductors conduct almost with zero resistance below the transmission temperature.
· Example of Superconductors : Aluminium, Zinc, Nicrome, Mercury, Niobium-Tin, Lanthanum-Barium-Copper Oxide, and Yttrium-Barium-Copper Oxide.
· Uses: Used in Energy saving in power systems, super conducting magnets, memory storage elements, etc.

Low Resistivity Material:

· Semi-conductors conduct almost with Low resistance.
· Example of Semi-conductor: Germenium , silicon , silver , aluminium , steel , bronze , etc..
· Uses: Used in Electrical devise , electrical power transmission and distribution , winding wires in motors and transformer.

High Resistivity Material:

· Insulators have high resistivity and low temperature co-efficient of resistance.
· Example of Insulators: Tungsten , platinum , etc.
· Uses: Used in manufacture of resistors, heating elements, etc.