Question:
Hello, my name is Michael Katz-Hyman and I am
doing a science project on conductors. I was
wondering what is the best conductor?
Replies:
If you mean solid substances at room temperature, silver.
Otherwise, one of the superconductors, but I do not know which.
christopher grayce
Well, this is outside of my field but if I recall correctly the
best pure element conductor at room temperature is silver -- with
copper and gold doing pretty well also. The reason for all the qualifiers
is that conductivity is a function of temperature as well as the
chemical makeup of a substance. You have probably heard of superconductors
which are the superstars of conductivity -- perfect conductors of
current -- but only at low temperatures (more than 150 degrees below
zero).
An interesting aside is that during WWII silver became very scarce in
the US because the government used large quantities of it for wire
at, believe, Oakridge National Laboratory. Copper was not good enough
for this particular application.
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