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- PHY102 Physics II © Dr.Cem Özdoğan
- 21-3 Conductors and Insulators
- Nonconductors - also called insulators - are materials through which charge cannot move freely; examples include wood, rubber, plastic, glass, and chemically pure water.
- There are few (if any) free electrons in a nonconductor.
- Materials classified based on their ability to move charge (Conductance)
- In an Insulator, each electron cloud is tightly bound to the protons in a nucleus.
- But the electron cloud can “Distort” locally.
- Under Applied Potential Difference V
- but polarization & dipole moment
- Semiconductors are materials that are intermediate between conductors and insulators; examples include silicon and germanium in computer chips.
- Superconductors are materials that are perfect conductors, allowing charge to move without any hindrance (no resistance!).