What is Conductor: Definition and 811 Discussions

In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is an object or type of material that allows the flow of charge (electrical current) in one or more directions. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors. Electrical current is generated by the flow of negatively charged electrons, positively charged holes, and positive or negative ions in some cases.
In order for current to flow within a closed electrical circuit, it is not necessary for one charged particle to travel from the component producing the current (the current source) to those consuming it (the loads). Instead, the charged particle simply needs to nudge its neighbor a finite amount, who will nudge its neighbor, and on and on until a particle is nudged into the consumer, thus powering it. Essentially what is occurring is a long chain of momentum transfer between mobile charge carriers; the Drude model of conduction describes this process more rigorously. This momentum transfer model makes metal an ideal choice for a conductor; metals, characteristically, possess a delocalized sea of electrons which gives the electrons enough mobility to collide and thus affect a momentum transfer.
As discussed above, electrons are the primary mover in metals; however, other devices such as the cationic electrolyte(s) of a battery, or the mobile protons of the proton conductor of a fuel cell rely on positive charge carriers. Insulators are non-conducting materials with few mobile charges that support only insignificant electric currents.

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  1. B

    Random electron striking a neutral conductor

    if a random electron strikes a neutral conductor does it get absorbed and increase the voltage of the conductor
  2. bachir1994

    Electrical energy transmission is on the inside or outside of a conductor

    Hi, Is it true that the transmission of energy is not inside an electrical conductor, but outside the metal. this even for frequencies around 50 hertz. Thank's
  3. K

    The height of a dielectric material between two coaxial pipes

    Homework Statement This is the exercise 10.6 from Feynman lectures on Physics 2. Two coaxial pipes of radii a and b(a<b) are lowered vertically into an oil bath. If a voltage V is applied between the pipes, show that the oil rises a height H. Show that H=(V^2)(κ-1)ε_0/[ln(b/a)ρ(b^2-a^2)g] where...
  4. B

    Cavity inside a current carrying conductor

    suppose there is a cavity inside a current carrying conductor.if anyone is inside the cavity he will be electrified or not?what's the explanation of this problem?
  5. B

    B Photon Gas in a Box w/ Heat Conductor

    If I have a box evacuated of air with 5 of the sides mirors and one side a heat conductor. will the photon gas inside have photons that get absorbed by the heat conductor and re-emitted when the photons strike the heat conductor
  6. Krushnaraj Pandya

    Does the electric field within a conductor depend on its location?

    Homework Statement consider two concentric shells, the smaller one has inner and outer radius a and b, the larger one has IR and O.R. c and d. Inner shell has total charge -2q and outer shell has total charge +4q. NOTE-This is a random situation I created to explain my doubt properly, so we...
  7. O

    I Does a conductor E field include a tangential component?

    Background: an ordinary wire supports an external radial electric field proportional to voltage, and an internal axial field equal to current times resistance per unit length. The present question is whether the internal axial field has an external counterpart. The original question that...
  8. Brilli

    Charge Flow in Earthed Conducting Shell with Non-Symmetric Configuration

    Homework Statement Consider a thin conducting shell of radius r carrying total charge q. Two point charges q and 2q are placed on the points A and B which are at the distances 0.5r and 2r from centre of the shell respectively. If the shell is earthed how much charge flows from to the earth...
  9. C

    A few questions regarding Neutral Objects

    1. Homework Statement Hello, I'm learning electricity and I'm having a few conceptual questions regarding the subject ( especially about neutral objects ) which I'm unsure of the answers and I'd be happy if someone could help me:1. Is the charge density of a neutral object ( doesn't matter if...
  10. G

    Magnetic energy stored in a cylindrical conductor

    Homework Statement So I came across with following problem: > Consider a cylindrical conductor of infinite length and circular section of radius a and that is traversed by a stationary current I. What is the magnetic energy stored in the conductor. Homework Equations 3. The Attempt at a...
  11. D

    Single phase AC 3 wire neutral conductor shock potential?

    I have a question with regard to split single phase (in United States) electricity. I understand that there are 2 hot legs each 180 degrees out of phase at +120v and -120v (240v between hot legs) going from transformer to breaker box and a center tapped neutral Earth bonded wire at 0v with...
  12. Cassius1n

    Heat loss in a conductor based on Fourier's law

    Homework Statement Find the admissible current density Jadm for a wire that has no insulation and also for a wire that has two layers of insulation and compare it to Jadm for the case when the wire has only one layer of insulation.2. The attempt at a solution and equations In the image I've...
  13. Yousuf Ejazi

    Calculate the induced EMF for angle α

    I have a question in my book and it’s confusing me a bit. I tried to search online for similar solved problems but couldn’t succeed. So here it goes:Calculate the induced EMF in a conductor loop when the angle between \vec{A} ~ and~ \vec{B} ~is~ changed ~from ~{0 °}~ to ~{α °} in 1 second...
  14. A

    Electric field inside a conductor

    The electric field inside a conductor is zero. Or: the internal electric field is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the external electric field, so that the net electric field inside the conductor is zero. Why is this? The part where I am confused is why the magnitude is equal...
  15. Suyash Singh

    Force on conductor in magnetic field

    Homework Statement Homework Equations Emf=B l V V is (velocity) F=QVB The Attempt at a Solution Emf=BLV Work=QBLV Force=BLV how come V=Q/m. its not possible or is it?
  16. I

    Mutual Inductance of Coaxial Tube and Coil

    In my lab we are working with a Coaxial coil and stainless steel tube, and are aiming to find the mutual Inductance. I've done some looking around and have easily found the Inductance of a Coaxial cable, and for that of Coaxial coils, but am having trouble with a combination of the two. The...
  17. F

    Electric field inside a conductor

    The electric field inside of a conductor is 0, but what exactly does inside a conductor mean? It’s easy enough to understand what this means if the conductor is closed, but what if the conductor is open in some way? What counts as inside and what doesn’t?
  18. P

    Electric field due to current carrying conductor

    Does static charge near to a constant current carrying conductor experience force on it? I am asking this question because i have learned that electric field and mangnetic field are same thing but viewing differently with respect to the frame of reference...when a positive test charge moves (...
  19. G

    Why do electrons collide with ions in a conductor

    Homework Statement I am confused if whether the collisions in a conductor is because as the electric field pushes electrons through the material, they literally bump into the orbitals of the atoms because these atoms get in the way of the electron flow, or whether these collisions happen...
  20. C

    Will a subwavelength conductor patch reflect specularly?

    If I had metal stripe significantly longer than the wavelength but less wide than one wavelength and it would be at an angle in the plane perpendicular the length of the stripe to to the incoming wave, would itireflect specurarly or diffusely?
  21. lawsonfurther

    Why can't excess charges leave the surface of a conductor?

    My question is basically similar to a thread that was posted 12 years ago: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/electrons-flying-off-a-conductor.119269/ I was glad to see that there was already a thread which asked my question in the forum. But when I read through all of the discussion, I don't...
  22. Richie Smash

    B Direction of the force on a conductor in a solenoid

    Hi I have attached a picture here, of a solenoid with a copper block connected to a battery suspended in it. The current moving is clockwise, So the magnetic poles would be as shown. Now my problem always is this, I get so confused with this, I used Fleming's left hand rule to find the...
  23. G Cooke

    Conservation of electrical energy on a conductor

    I'm having trouble seeing how electric potential energy production on a conductor follows conservation of energy. Let's use the photoelectric effect as an example. A photon with energy E = hν strikes a conductor, ejecting a photoelectron with a maximum kinetic energy of hν - φ. Assuming the...
  24. K

    Transparent conductor on transparent plastic film?

    Need two transparent conductors in an arrangment like this on a transparent plastic film. Such as ITO on PET. But it doesn't have to be ITO necessarily. There are going to be much more fingers and size of the lanes and their gaps are going to be sub milimeter, so hand drawing is out of the...
  25. A

    Does a rotating conductor generate a voltage change

    Does a rotating conductor generate an electrical potential due to charges "feeling" a centrifugal force?
  26. B

    Resistance of a semicircular conductor with a rectangular cross section

    Homework Statement There is a conductor with the square-shaped area. the Radii are r1 , r2 with width b and resistivity ## \rho_R##. Find the resistance R between A and B 2. Homework Equations ##I = \iint_A\vec J \cdot d \vec A## ## \vec J = \kappa \vec E ## ## \vec E = \rho \vec J## ## V =...
  27. chandrahas

    Why doesn't a magnetically levitating conductor oscillate?

    I was watching this video of veritasium today and was wondering why the aluminum plate doesn't oscillate when there is a changing magnetic flux. When the flux is increasing, the induced magnetic field (by the induced current) is against the magnetic field of the coil and this acts like 2 north...
  28. C

    Increase in kinetic energy in current carrying conductor

    Homework Statement If I have two current carrying conductor carrying current is same direction, they move towards each other so kinetiisc energy increases. So which force does work here? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution I know magnetic force can't do work, is work done by some...
  29. F

    Electric field of a current carrying conductor along its sur

    Homework Statement I am trying to figur out whether there is or isn t an Electric Field along the surface of a cylindrical current carrying wire With radius r and length L, current I and resistance R. I was trying to see if someone already asked this and i found one discussion, however where a...
  30. G

    I Ion Conductors: Comparing Resistance to Copper at Room Temperature

    I am interested can you please point out, are there any ion conductors (electrolytes i assume they are called) that are comparable in their resistance to copper at room temperature? I am thinking about both liquid or solid conductors here. Also I was wondering is it possible to make continuity...
  31. Fibonacci Vonacci

    Magnetic Field of an AA Battery 'Immersed' in a Conductor

    If an AA battery were placed in some kind of ideal conducting 'ether': 1) Would current flow, and if so, what would the flow of electrons look like? 2) How would the magnetic field look? (I imagine that if there was an electric current flowing, that the magnetic field would look a little like...
  32. E

    Why is the electric field in an ideal wire zero?

    I’ve looked at the answers given to the previous times this question has been asked, but I still don’t seem to understand how this holds in the case of a closed circuit. Here’s an explanation given before: “Think of the wire as a horizontal cylinder. If you apply an electric field pointing to...
  33. Pushoam

    Material: semi - conductor or metal?

    Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Since the dependence of resistance upon the tem. is different for metal and semi - conductor ( increase of tem. decreases semi - con. resistivity while increases metal's resistivity.), option c is not the right answer. Since...
  34. J

    Inserting a conductor in a parallel-plate capacitor

    Consider a parallel plate capacitor formed by two plates of length ##L## and width ##d##, separated by a distance ##e##. There is a vacuum in between the plates. Let's note the capacitance of this arrangement ##C_0##. I insert a conducting plate of length ##l=L/2##, with ##D##, and thickness...
  35. G

    Spherical conductor shell problem

    Homework Statement Consider a spherical conducting shell with inner radius R2 and outer radius R3, that has other spherical conductor inside it with radius R1 (this one is solid). Initially the 2 spheres are connected by a wire. We put a positive charge Q on the sphere and after some time we...
  36. M

    A Semiconductor can be a conductor

    I have Semiconductor at my home. I had to use a Semiconductor as junction of electrical current. Current at the junction could be so big if I shoot a sun light from lens and mirror to a Semiconductor. What happen about my experiment? What is it a fotoelectric effect?
  37. A

    I Is sand a better conductor than clay? And why?

    I'm reading through my soil heat flux chapter and I have two questions: it seems that 1. Cs (volumetric heat capacity) in soil increases with increasing soil moisture. I assume volumetric heat capacity is the amount of J it takes to heat up a volume with 1 degree. Does that mean that the more...
  38. T

    Electric field inside hollow conductor with a charge

    Ok, this might be a really dumb question, but I still am asking it: I was reading about gauss' Law when it comes to a hollow conductor with a (say) point charge inside it, and it seems intuitive to me that, in electrostatic equilibrium, the charges rearrange themselves to cancel the electric...
  39. T

    Rotating a spherical conductor in an Electric field

    Hi, I recently came across the familiar image of a metal sphere in an electric field: https://i.stack.imgur.com/x58Ia.jpg I noted how the free-charges on the surface of the sphere align with the electric field lines as opposite charges are attracted. Then I wondered, 'what if the sphere was...
  40. hackhard

    Conductivity of an electrolyte

    I know that electric conductivity of metallic conductors increases with decrease in its absolute temperature(kelvin) . But is it the same for electrolytes such as water. Is cold water a better or worse conductor of electricity than warm water at same pressure and concentration.
  41. D

    Charge density and charge on a conductor

    Homework Statement A point charge ##q = −5.0\times 10^{−12} C## is placed at the center of a spherical conducting shell of inner radius 3.5 cm and outer radius 4.0 cm. The electric field just above the surface of the conductor is directed radially outward and has magnitude 8.0 N/C. (a) What is...
  42. E

    Electric field outside conductor surface

    I'm confused as to how this expression E= (δ/εo) can't be used to calculate the electric field of a perfectly flat part of a surface even farther from just above the surface.If you just extend the same cylindrical Gaussian surface used for this proof, wouldn't the field stay the same no matter...
  43. R

    Increment of capacitance of conductor

    Homework Statement A Sheet of conductor of thickness t and parallel faces of cross-sectional area >=A is inserted between the plates of the capacitor of a parallel plate conductor. Show that the capacitance increased by ΔC= ε0tA/d(d-t) Homework Equations σ,ε0,Δ The Attempt at a Solution...
  44. R

    What is the charge of each conductor afterwards?

    Homework Statement Two identical conductors are brought into contact. Initially one conductor has a charge of +30 x10^(-6) C, what is the charge of each conductor afterward? Does it matter how the contact is made? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Well since they are conductors...
  45. S

    Why is Sn a better conductor than Pb?

    Homework Statement Hi guys, I'm currently writing an extended essay in Physics looking at the effect of percentage composition of Sn has on the electrical resistivity of SnPb Solder. I've noticed that Sn is listed as being a better conductor than Pb, despite trends of periodicity and have been...
  46. P

    Nonuniform magnetic field and stationary conductor

    Situation is this, consider a conductor moves perpendicular to the direction of magnetic field. But magnetic field is not uniform through out the conductor movement( but magnet is stationary and flux lines are in same direction and magic field doesn't change with time but changes with space...
  47. R

    When a current is passed through a conductor, will it be charged?

    Please explain me the following answer Q)When a current is passed through a conductor, will it be charged? A)Charge carriers participating in conduction in a conductor are not excess charge carriers. The number of free charge carriers is equal to the number of opposite charge on the nearly...
  48. L

    Magnetic Flux through conductor coil

    Homework Statement Consider a conductor loop which rotates about the y-axis with angular velocity w. The positive y-axis is directed into the paper, the x-axis to the right and the z-axis upwards. There is an inhomogeneous magnetic field along the positive x-axis. Calculate the magnetic flux...
  49. C

    Charged insulator touches a conductor

    Ques : If a neutral metal sphere placed on an insulating stand is touched by a charged plastic rod , does the metal sphere acquire any charge ? I think that by simply touching the sphere by insulating rod , the metal should not acquire any charge as the charges on the rod are immobile unlike a...
  50. P

    Charged sphere and charged conducting shell

    Homework Statement A + q = 5 pC charge is uniformly distributed on a non-conducting sphere of radius a= 5 cm , which is placed in the center of a spherical conducting shell of inner radius b = 10 cm and outer radius c = 12 cm. The outer conducting shell is charged with a -q charge. Determine...
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