Conductivity of oil and water
The conductivity of substances can have several sub-items, such as: B. the electrical line. The comparison of individual substances, such as oil and water, can illustrate this very well.
The details of conductivity
- Conductivity is understood to mean more than just electricity.
- Because there are also z. B. nor heat conduction and permeability for magnetic fields or other substances.
- However, these peculiarities lead deeper into the physics and are in part also the subject of chemical investigations.
Heat and electricity conduction of oil
- As far as oil is concerned, there is initially no conductivity whatsoever. The origin of the lack of electrical conduction is due to the lack of charge carriers.
- In this context, charge carriers are understood to mean ions. So this means that this substance is a perfect insulator for electrical connections.
- However, there is greater potential in terms of thermal conductivity, i.e. the ability to transfer heat. The reason for this are the oscillation processes of the atoms that take place when they are heated.
- The exact value is 0.13 to 0.15 watts per Kelvin in meters, i.e. W / (KxM).
Why is no current flow possible in pure water?
Water conducts electricity - every experiment with tap water shows it. This …
Water as a difference
- In contrast, water has a better conductivity not only for electricity but also for heat.
- This is due to the ions that are released by salts, acids or bases in the water. It also follows that fires on electrical appliances should not be extinguished with this element.
- However, depending on the salt content or the additional substances, different values of the electrical conduction can occur in this element. On the one hand, seawater has a much better conductivity, while distilled water has a much poorer one.
- The reason that from z. B. Water purified by salts can still conduct electricity, is what is known as autoprotolysis. Through chemical details, this ensures a certain component of ions in the liquid and thus an extremely low conductivity.
- The heat conduction, however, is 0.5 W / (KxM). This value may appear to be high compared to the oil, but it is extremely low compared to other substances, especially metals and alloys. B. Can achieve values of up to 429 W / (KxM), as is the case with silver.
- However, other basic conditions also play a role in metals, e.g. B. Conduction electrons, with in the heat conduction.
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