From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals

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Conductors and insulators

Conductors and insulators

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals

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Conductors and insulators

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- Electricity occurs when electrons accumulate in or flow through the atoms that make up an object, and different types of materials, which are composed of different combinations of atoms, may allow those little electrons to move about more or less freely from atom to atom. The term conductivity describes how easily electrons are able to move around within certain materials, and it's determined by the structure of atoms in the material and how they're connected to each other. Materials with a relatively high conductivity are called conductors. They allow the electrons in them to move about freely among the atoms. Metals such as copper and gold are commonly used as conductors in electric circuits. Materials that have a relatively low conductivity are called insulators and they resist the movement of electrons. In insulative materials, the electrons are bound more tightly to the atoms, so they have a harder time moving…

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