Table of Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity January 22 2025 —  update January 1 2026

The following table lists the conductivity and Resistivity of many elements  and materials that can be used in the construction of electrolysis systems.  The greater the resistivity of a material the greater the percentage of input electrical energy which is wasted as Heat energy,  

It is easy to see that the best material to use in an electrolysis system is Platinum or Platinum group materials.   Also easy to see that the cost of using these precious rare materials is excessively high.  So high that the fuel savings %  achieved are reduced by the cost of these elements / materials.

What can be done is to use combinations of materials that give great strength and productivity  – used as coatings etc

Currently we have been working on producing strong , and efficient electrodes using a combination of chemical etching of these precious materials … It has been a very successful investigation and registered as a new, innovative patent 

The New Anode material is more than just resistant to oxidation damage  but also increases the gas production rate at the Cathode.  The New Anode material is a patented Alloy made of a combination of metals That massively improve the stability and efficiency of the electrolytic assembly.

Specialist alloy anodes such as Iridium coating of the anode acts as a highly efficient catalyst, making the electrochemical reactions, like oxygen evolution, happen at lower voltages. This means you need less energy to drive the reaction, which improves the overall efficiency and lowers energy losses.  So Iridium really helps in making the process more energy-efficient.   Iridium is a very expensive material to use which makes its use prohibitive. Our patented alloy anodes also have very low overpotential , like Iridium , But at a much cheaper cost.

Table of Electrical Resistivity and electrical conductivity 

 

Table of Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity

This entry was posted on January 16, 2019 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on April 27, 2024)

A resistor has high electrical resistance while a conductor has high conductivity. (Nicolas Thomas)

This is a table of the electrical resistivity and electrical conductivity of several materials. Included are metals, elements, water, and insulators.

Electrical resistivity, represented by the Greek letter ρ (rho), is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. The lower the resistivity, the more readily the material permits the flow of electric charge. The higher the resistivity, the harder it is for current to flow. Materials with high resistivity are electrical resistors.

Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal quantity of resistivity. Conductivity is a measure of how well a material conducts an electric current. Materials with high electrical conductivity are electrical conductors. Electric conductivity may be represented by the Greek letter σ (sigma), κ (kappa), or γ (gamma).

Table of Resistivity and Conductivity at 20°C

Material	ρ (Ω•m) at 20 °C Resistivity	σ (S/m) at 20 °C Conductivity
Silver	1.59×10−8	6.30×107
Copper	1.68×10−8	5.96×107
Annealed copper	1.72×10−8	5.80×107
Gold	2.44×10−8	4.10×107
Aluminum	2.82×10−8	3.5×107
Calcium	3.36×10−8	2.98×107
Tungsten	5.60×10−8	1.79×107
Zinc	5.90×10−8	1.69×107
Nickel	6.99×10−8	1.43×107
Lithium	9.28×10−8	1.08×107
Iron	1.0×10−7	1.00×107
Platinum	1.06×10−7	9.43×106
Tin	1.09×10−7	9.17×106
Carbon steel	(1010)	1.43×10−7
Lead	2.2×10−7	4.55×106
Titanium	4.20×10−7	2.38×106
Grain oriented electrical steel	4.60×10−7	2.17×106
Manganin	4.82×10−7	2.07×106
Constantan	4.9×10−7	2.04×106
Stainless steel	6.9×10−7	1.45×106
Mercury	9.8×10−7	1.02×106
Nichrome	1.10×10−6	9.09×105
GaAs	5×10−7 to 10×10−3	5×10−8 to 103
Carbon (amorphous)	5×10−4 to 8×10−4	1.25 to 2×103
Carbon (graphite)	2.5×10−6 to 5.0×10−6 //basal plane 3.0×10−3 ⊥basal plane	2 to 3×105 //basal plane 3.3×102 ⊥basal plane
Carbon (diamond)	1×1012	~10−13
Germanium	4.6×10−1	2.17
Sea water	2×10−1	4.8
Drinking water	2×101 to 2×103	5×10−4 to 5×10−2
Silicon	6.40×102	1.56×10−3
Wood (damp)	1×103 to 4	10−4 to 10-3
Deionized water	1.8×105	5.5×10−6
Glass	10×1010 to 10×1014	10−11 to 10−15
Hard rubber	1×1013	10−14
Wood (oven dry)	1×1014 to 16	10−16 to 10-14
Sulfur	1×1015	10−16
Air	1.3×1016 to 3.3×1016	3×10−15 to 8×10−15
Paraffin wax	1×1017	10−18
Fused quartz	7.5×1017	1.3×10−18
PET	10×1020	10−21
Teflon	10×1022 to 10×1024	10−25 to 10−23

Factors That Affect Electrical Conductivity

There are three main factors that affect the conductivity or resistivity of a material:

1. Cross-Sectional Area: If the cross-section of a material is large, it can allow more current to pass through it. Similarly, a thin cross-section restricts current flow. For example, a thick wire has a higher cross-section than a fine wire.
2. Length of the Conductor: A short conductor allows current to flow at a higher rate than a long conductor. It’s sort of like trying to move a lot of people through a hallway compared with a door.
3. Temperature: Increasing temperature makes particles vibrate or move more. Increasing this movement (increasing temperature) decreases conductivity because the molecules are more likely to get in the way of current flow. At extremely low temperatures, some materials are superconductors.

 

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Wednesday, January 22, 2025