conductivity and ironic compound

[guest]

I am doing a science fair project on how salt affects electrical circuit. I was wondering if you could answer some of the questions that I had. I was wondering why different kinds of objects has different conductivity, and what kind of objects the electricity passes through more easily. I was also wondering what ironic compound was and what kind of characteristics that it has that affects its conductivity. I hope to get the answers to my questinos soon. Thank you.

[davidmoilanen]

Hi,

The conductivity of an object depends on the ability of charge to move within the object. If there are a lot of available charges electricity can move relatively freely through the object. If there are not many charges, the object is called an insulator and electricity does not move through it. Electricity passes through metals like copper very easily, that's why most wires are made of copper.

An ionic compound is made up of atoms that have positive charges and other atoms that have negative charges. The two different charges attract each other. Ionic compounds often dissolve in water easily making lots of available charges. Because of all these available charges, electricity can pass easily through an ionic solution.