Electrical Conductivity - Elements and other Materials

Electric conductance is the ability of a element to conduct an electric current.

Electrical Conductivity

Electrical conductivity or specific conductivity is the measure of a material's ability to conduct electric current. Conductivity is the reciprocal (inverse) of electrical resistivity .

Electrical conductivity is defined as the ratio of the current density to the electric field strength and can be expressed as

σ = J / E (1)

where

σ = electrical conductivity (1/ohms m, 1/ Ω m, siemens/m, S/m, mho/m)

J = current density (amps/m ² )

E = electric field strength (volts/m)

One siemens - S - is equal to the reciprocal of one ohm and is also referred to as one mho.

Electrical Conductivity of some Common Materials

Electrical Conductivity - Elements and other Materials
Product	Electrical Conductivity - σ - (1/Ω m, S/m, mho/m)
Aluminum	37.7 10 ⁶
Beryllium	31.3 10 ⁶
Cadmium	13.8 10 ⁶
Calcium	29.8 10 ⁶
Chromium	7.74 10 ⁶
Cobalt	17.2 10 ⁶
Copper	59.6 10 ⁶
Copper - annealed	58.0 10 ⁶
Gallium	6.78 10 ⁶
Gold	45.2 10 ⁶
Iridium	19.7 10 ⁶
Iron	9.93 10 ⁶
Indium	11.6 10 ⁶
Lithium	10.8 10 ⁶
Magnesium	22.6 10 ⁶
Molybdenum	18.7 10 ⁶
Nickel	14.3 10 ⁶
Niobium	6.93 10 ⁶
Osmium	10.9 10 ⁶
Palladium	9.5 10 ⁶
Platinum	9.66 10 ⁶
Potassium	13.9 10 ⁶
Rhenium	5.42 10 ⁶
Rhodium	21.1 10 ⁶
Rubidium	7.79 10 ⁶
Ruthenium	13.7 10 ⁶
Silver	63 10 ⁶
Sodium	21 10 ⁶
Strontium	7.62 10 ⁶
Tantalum	7.61 10 ⁶
Technetium	6.7 10 ⁶
Thallium	6.17 10 ⁶
Thorium	6.53 10 ⁶
Tin	9.17 10 ⁶
Tungsten	18.9 10 ⁶
Zinc	16.6 10 ⁶
Seawater	4.5 - 5.5
Water - Drinking	0.0005 - 0.05
Water - Deionized	5.5 10 ^-6

1 S/m = 10 ⁴ μS/cm = mho/m
1 S/cm = 10 ^-2 S/m
1 1/Ω m = S/m = 3.28 1/Ω ft = 3.28 S/ft

Electrical Conductivity of Elements relative to Silver

Electrical Conductivity of Elements relative to Silver
Element	Electrical Conductivity relative to Silver
Silver	100.0
Copper	94.6
Gold	71.7
Aluminum	59.8
Beryllium	49.7
Calcium	47.3
Magnesium	35.9
Rhodium	33.5
Sodium	33.0
Barium	30.6
Tungsten	30.0
Molybdenum	29.7
Cobalt	27.3
Zinc	26.3
Nickel	22.6
Cadmium	21.9
Ruthenium	21.7
Cesium	20.0
Indium	18.4
Osmium	17.3
Lithium	17.1
Uranium	16.5
Manganese	15.8
Iron	15.8
Platinum	15.3
Palladium	15.1
Tin	14.6
Titanium	13.7
Iridium	13.5
Rubidium	12.4
Chromium	12.3
Tantalum	12.1
Steel	12.0
Thallium	9.8
Lead	8.4
Columbium	5.1
Vanadium	5.0
Arsenic	4.9
Antimony	3.6
Mercury	1.8
Bismuth	1.4
Tellurium	0.0

Electrical Conductivity of Highly Purified Water

Electrical conductivity of highly purified water

Electrical Resistivity

Conductivity is the reciprocal (inverse) of electrical resistivity. Electrical resistivity can be expressed as

ρ = 1 / σ (2)

where

ρ = electrical resistivity (ohm m ² /m, ohm m)

Resistance of a Conductor

The resistance for a conductor can be expressed as

R = ρ l / A (3)

where

R = resistance (ohms, Ω)

l = length of conductor (m)

A = cross sectional area of conductor (m ² )

Example - Resistance of a Wire

The resistance of 1000 m copper wire gauge #10 with cross sectional area 5.26 mm ² can be calculated as

R = (1.724 x 10 ^-8 ohm m ² /m) (1000 m) / (( 5.26 mm ² ) (10 ^-6 m ² /mm ² ))

= 3.2 ohm

Resistivity and Conductivity Conversion

Resistivity and Conductivity Conversion
Grains/gal as CaCO ₃	ppm as CaCO ₃	ppm NaCl	Conductivity μmho/cm	Resistivity MΩ/cm
99.3	1700	2000	3860	0.00026
74.5	1275	1500	2930	0.00034
49.6	850	1000	1990	0.00050
24.8	425	500	1020	0.00099
9.93	170	200	415	0.0024
7.45	127	150	315	0.0032
4.96	85.0	100	210	0.0048
2.48	42.5	50	105	0.0095
0.992	17.0	20	42.7	0.023
0.742	12.7	15	32.1	0.031
0.496	8.50	10	21.4	0.047
0.248	4.25	5.0	10.8	0.093
0.099	1.70	2.0	4.35	0.23
0.074	1.27	1.5	3.28	0.30
0.048	0.85	1.00	2.21	0.45
0.025	0.42	0.50	1.13	0.88
0.0099	0.17	0.20	0.49	2.05
0.0076	0.13	0.15	0.38	2.65
0.0050	0.085	0.10	0.27	3.70
0.0025	0.042	0.05	0.16	6.15
0.00099	0.017	0.02	0.098	10.2
0.00070	0.012	0.015	0.087	11.5
0.00047	0.008	0.010	0.076	13.1
0.00023	0.004	0.005	0.066	15.2
0.00012	0.002	0.002	0.059	16.9

grains/gal = 17.1 ppm CaCO ₃

Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous Solutions

Electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions like

NaOH ₄ - Caustic soda
NH ₄ Cl - Ammonium chloride, Sal ammoniac
NaCl ₂ - Common salt
NaNO ₃ - Sodium nitrate, Chilean saltpetre
CaCl ₂ - Calcium chloride
ZnCl ₂ - Zinc chloride
NaHCO ₃ - Sodium bicarconate, baking soda
Na ₂ CO ₃ - Sodium carbonate, soda ash
CuSO ₄ - Copper sulfate, blue vitriol

Electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions

Electrical Conductivity - Elements and other Materials

Electric conductance is the ability of a element to conduct an electric current.