Conductors

Overview

Engineering reference data for Conductors in electrical engineering.

Key Formulas

Ohm's Law

$V = IR$

Voltage = Current × Resistance.

Power

$P = VI = I^2R = V^2/R$

Electrical power.

Energy

$E = Pt$

Energy = Power × Time.

Variables

Symbol	Description	Unit
$V$	Voltage	V
$I$	Current	A
$R$	Resistance	Ω
$P$	Power	W

Definitions

• Conductors: Materials with loosely attached valence electrons - electrons can drift freely between the atoms.
• Insulators: Materials with electrons bound to the atoms by ionic or covalent bonds - almost no current can flow.
• Semiconductors: Insulating materials where the bonds can be broken with applied voltage - electrons can be released and moved from one vacated valence site to another.

Electrical Conductivity of Common Materials

Conductivity of Elements Relative to Silver

Unit Conversions

• 1 S/m = 10⁴ μS/cm = 1 mho/m
• 1 S/cm = 10² S/m
• 1 S/m = 3.28 S/ft

Water Conductivity Reference

Note: 1 grain/gallon = 17.1 ppm as CaCO₃

Common Aqueous Solutions

The following aqueous solutions exhibit electrical conductivity:

• NaOH (Caustic soda)
• NH₄Cl (Ammonium chloride, Sal ammoniac)
• NaCl (Common salt)
• NaNO₃ (Sodium nitrate, Chilean saltpetre)
• CaCl₂ (Calcium chloride)
• ZnCl₂

Interactive Charts

References

• Original Source