STATIC ELECTRICITY INSULATORS AND CONDUCTORS LEARNING GOALS TODAY

STATIC ELECTRICITY INSULATORS AND CONDUCTORS

LEARNING GOALS TODAY WE WILL… • Review our exit question: how to make a ‘induced charge’ permanent • Learn the definition of an insulator, conductor, and semi-conductor • Identify some common insulators, conductors, and semi-conductors

THE ANSWER…

INSULATORS • material wherein electrons cannot move easily through • Typically non-metals • Result in a continuous build-up of static electricity eee-e-e • Can be used to protect us from being shocked eeee- eeeeeee-

CONDUCTOR • material wherein electrons can move easily through • Typically metals • Does not allow for a build-up of static electricity • Used to allow electricity to flow from one place to another eee- ee- e-

SEMI-CONDUCTOR • An exception to the rule • Materials where the electrons can move fairly well (not great, but O. K) • Typically non-metal • Often used in electronics

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EVERYDAY INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS, OR SEMICONDUCTORS? A conductivity tester lets you figure out if a material is a conductor or an insulator. When a conductor is attached to the tester, the light will turn on When an insulator is attached to the tester, the light stays off

WATER • Pure water is a good insulator (it won’t allow charges to flow through it) • But is water ever pure? Because water is the “universal solvent” almost everything can dissolve into it – which means water almost always contains small particles that make it a good conductor instead.

OVERVIEW • Insulators don’t allow electrons to flow, while conductors do allow electrons to flow • Semi-Conductors allow some electrons to flow • You can test a material using a Conductivity Tester • Pure Water is a good insulator