CONDUCTING Materials

Materials listed in order of electrical conductivity Gold Lead Platinum Mercury Tin Silver Nickel Silicon Copper Cobalt Iron Zinc Aluminum Titanium Magnesium What material is used in Electrical Wiring. Why is gold or lead not used in electrical wiring?

Overview – Properties of Materials Materials in order of thermal conductivity Silver Copper Gold Aluminum Magnesium Silicon Zinc Cobalt Nickel Iron Platinum Tin Lead Titanium Mercury

Overview – Testing Materials Materials in order of magnetic properties While most materials can be influenced in some way by a magnetic field, Iron, Nickel and Cobalt are thousands of times more susceptible than other materials Iron Nickel Cobalt Compounds containing these elements are also magnetic

Selection of Materials Physical Properties In answering the previous questions we have seen that the physical properties of a material have a large part to play in its selection for a particular application. Hardness, ductility, density, conductivity, melting point, cost of raw material, suitability for recycling, ease of manufacture, etc.

Conductors Conductors are the metals that pass electricity freely and the examples of conductive materials are Copper, Aluminium, Brass, Graphite, Gold, Brass, Bronze, and Steel etc.

Copper Copper is a conductive material having a low resistance. The electrons are loosely attached to a nucleus and flow freely. The energy losses in copper are less when compared with other conductive metals. The property of high melting point makes the copper suitable for heating applications. The copper has good thermal conductivity, electrical conduction, and corrosion resistant. It can be recycled in many forms, tough and easy to the alloy. Copper has nonmagnetic properties, disinfectant, easily linked to other metals.

Applications of Copper Used in the household for electrical wiring and grounding other than aluminium. Used in Solenoid Electric Bells Water Pipes Electromagnets Locks Electric motors Cookware Power stations Transformers In electrical Cords Pipes and fitting Natural gas pipes Seawater Telecommunication

Silver Silver withstands corrosion and provides oxidation. Hence, it is good for electrical usage. It is also used in medical applications for antimicrobial analysis. It is a perfect metal for making jewelry and industrial pipes and fittings.

Applications of Silver Filmy photography Used as catalyst Jewels Used as contact with switches Automobiles In solar panels Soldering metals Used as a disinfectant for preventing wounds. For refining petroleum waste particles

Aluminium Aluminium is a metal utilized in electronics for its valuable mechanical electrical attributes. They are used in making conductor pipes, motor assembly housing, and heat sinks.

Aluminium applications Antennas Telescopic Handlers Ladders Pharmaceutical coverings Packaging Applications Metal packing Food and beverage drinking outlets Inclosure applications as screw caps for mineralized water, oils etc. Foil Applications Used in making coffee cups, nuts, chocolates, drinks etc.

Brass Brass is used for electrical purpose due to its low cost. Some percentage of zinc is mixed with different proportions, making almost 15 types of brasses. Generally, Brass is one of the alloys of copper. It is used for switches, connectors, contacts etc. The interesting thing is brass is a good metal for making musical instruments due to its acoustic and ductile properties.

Bronze This is one of the copper alloys that contain lead, aluminium, silicon, and nickel. It is robust in nature when compared with brass. It is corrosion resistant and flexible. Bronze is used in ball bearings, surgical instruments.

Iron Iron is a good metal with shrinkable properties, damping capacity, fluid in nature. Applications of Iron: Cookware, manhole lids, Car parts, Bridges, metro buildings. It is a core element in building generators, motors, transformers, Audio and video storage devices etc. Permanent magnets made of iron are used in MRI medical application.

Gold Electronic devices make use of gold coating for eliminating corrosion. It is a good resource for manufacturing electronic components. Gold is used in soldering joints, switches, electrical contacts. Gold is used in mobile phones, GPS modules, PDA’s, Digital calculators, Smart TVs etc. Application areas of gold include medical diagnostic equipment, satellite components and mechanical parts in aerospace industry etc.

Platinum Platinum as a conductor used as an alternative to gold. It is used in electrical switches and contacts for preventing corrosion. Applications of platinum include chemical processing (as a catalyst), Glass industry for making dyes, and extracting crude oil from petroleum.