Electrical Conduction in Metals

Abstract

Many readers will have learned quite a lot about electricity and electric currents without knowing just why it is that some materials will conduct readily while others are insulators which can become statically charged. In the foregoing chapters we have seen how all matter is built of charged constituents-positive and negative-and obviously conduction of electricity must be associated with motion of those charges. Since the protons in the nucleus of an atom are firmly fixed they can only move when the whole atom moves. Now in the case of electrical conduction in metals, we know that no matter is transported when conduction occurs so that the motion of protons cannot be involved and the loosely bound electrons must be responsible for the passage of current. On the other hand, we know in the case of electrolytic conduction that atoms from the electrolyte are released at cathode and anode so that atoms (actually ions) are moving during conduction and both positive and negative charges are involved in the process.