• Science

    When Is Carbon an Electrical Conductor?

    By Adam Weiner Posted on 9.30.2008 13 Comments

    And the $64,000 question is ... does graphite conduct electricity? It certainly does! The video demonstration displays this quite convincingly. Graphite is an interesting material, an allotrope of carbon (as is diamond). It displays properties of both metals, and nonmetals. However, like a metal, graphite is a very good conductor of electricity due to the mobility of the electrons in its outer valence shells.

    10.11.2008 at 05:57pm - Comment by smurrah

    What do you think an incandescent light bulb is? A resistor. Would you put your hand on a light bulb? Resistors give of heat. The fact that this resistor made of carbon from pencil graphite burns through paper like a torch means it isn't flowing the electricity from one end to the other without resistance. A conductor means, it can flow electrons. When something doesn't flow electrons from one end to the other. I was simply putting it in layman's terms that YES: it *can* conduct electrons but NO it is not a *GOOD* conductor of electrons.

  • Science

    When Is Carbon an Electrical Conductor?

    By Adam Weiner Posted on 9.30.2008 13 Comments

    And the $64,000 question is ... does graphite conduct electricity? It certainly does! The video demonstration displays this quite convincingly. Graphite is an interesting material, an allotrope of carbon (as is diamond). It displays properties of both metals, and nonmetals. However, like a metal, graphite is a very good conductor of electricity due to the mobility of the electrons in its outer valence shells.

    10.2.2008 at 01:34am - Comment by smurrah

    The fact it glows and flows electricity doesn't mean it is a "good" conductor. In fact it is the opposite a strong resistor in this case. If it resists electricity the flow goes in a different direction and that is in the form of heat/light. It just simply "can" conduct electricity but I don't see it as a "good" conductor.



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