Ive been wondering about this for some time now and can't find any answer's.
What makes Copper so special that we can get an electric current from it?
are their any other elements or alloys that have this unique ability?
and could it be possible that special alloys could give off more energy when used in a generator? (as apposed to copper wire)
Silver is the best conductor of electricity..... :)
For a comparison between the metals see:
http://www.myhrsb.ca/Functions/Curriculum/eng/science/9/SupplementaryPages/MetalsElectConductivity.htm
That should tell you most of what you need to know.
Hans von Lieven
I dont see bismuth on that chart hans?
Bismuth has a very high resistance and is not normally considered as a conductor of electricity. Precise data in comparison with say copper are hard to come by. In thin layers it is a semiconductor.
Hans von Lieven
http://www.sei.co.jp/super/hts_e/index.html (http://www.sei.co.jp/super/hts_e/index.html) this explains what im talking about
Bismuth-based superconducting material was discovered in Japan. Sumitomo Electric is the world's first company to produce long bismuth-based superconducting wire, which has now become a global standard. Bismuth-based superconducting material is made of bismuth - strontium - calcium - copper - oxygen (Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O). The 2223 phase with composition ratio of Bi, Sr, Ca and Cu is 2:2:2:3 has high critical temperature (110 K) and therefore is attracting much attention as a commercially viable material since its discovery. Sumitomo Electric has been researching the solid phase method for combined processing of silver and bismuth-based HTS material. Using its innovative process called "Controlled Over Pressure (CT-OP)", quality and productivity for Bi-based HTS wires are improved substantially.
goes with picture : Electric current over 100 times that of copper wire
can be flown at zero electric resistance.)
110 Kelvin is not very much, a bit hard for us chickens to use LOL
Hans
A good conductor always has a bunch of electrons that are not tightly bound in fixed orbitals relative to the atomic neuclei. They form an electron cloud so to speak. Electrons just barely fixed in an atomic structure wandering back and forth between atoms of the conductor. Now if you start to combine different metals and make more and more electrons in the cloud it gets to be a better conductor cause well, there are more electrons available to move. What happens in a wire is after you have accelerated all the valence electrons in the cloud the potential goes to work on the electrons which are more tightly bound to the protons. They don't move out of their orbitals but cause the whole atom to move. Moving atoms = thermal energy. So your voltage is going into heating the conductor instead of moving electrons. Another interesting thing about current in a wire is that most of the current is carried by the skin. Something to do with the mass of the electrons which creates viscosity and therefore shear planes. High tension wires have hollow cores to minimize weight and cost. The power companies also convert the ac to dc to minimize self-inductive losses.
@sparks....so are you saying that the electric current is a creating a field around the wire or the field around the wire is the current?
@mapsrg
I believe what happens is the conductor has this electronic cloud of loosely bound electrons. It is barely holding itself together on a molecular basis. So when you cause a potential to form on each end of this conductor the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy when the electrons of the conductor move. An electrical wind so to speak. The electrons on the skin of the conductor find it easier to move because there is less mass in their way. The electrons have mass so they have viscosity and inertia just like any other matter. When the potential stops or reverses the electrons reorder themselves into orbitals dictated by the neucleus. This isn't a big deal when the wire is only 20' long but when you are talking 100's of miles this amounts to alot of wasted copper and energy. So they make a hollow wire and use DC. The hollow wire to reduce weight and expense, the DC to get away from the losses due to the mass of the electrons. And don't forget our ever present magnetic structuring around a conductor. Lot less losses when this magnetic field isn't changing 60times a second and producing eddy currents in the conductor.
@mapsrg
Sorry I just realized I didn't answer you. I believe that the electron cloud of the conductor gets acted upon in three ways. When the potential is first applied there is a flow of energy through the conductor cloud field that is like emwave propogation. This is the kick effect. This is followed by a scalar wave which is like sound energy where the electrons act like air does when we yell and finally flow of energy where the electrons actually move like wind.
@sparks ....This electron theory is not answering alote of questions...In the multiple earthed nuetral (MAN) system of power supply electrons apparently travel through the earth back to the generator source.It seems to me that electricity is more like a radio wave as early radio also was earthed .AC is a wave afterall... your reference to sound waves is a good one,i think electrons spin the Magnetic power (EMF) on to the next electron through induction just as sound waves travel by atom to atom vibration .