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Conductivity

06/03/2012 3:45 PM

Is quartz a good conductor of electricity or not?

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#1

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 3:55 PM
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#2

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 3:59 PM

Please turn all-caps off.

As to the question, I don't think so; but I didn't look it up.

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#3

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 4:19 PM

Quartz is typically considered to not be a good conductor. However, the piezoelectric effect happens in a quartz crystal quite easily. Because of this a uniform crystal of quartz can be cut to a precise dimension so that a quartz crystal oscillator can be fabricated. At the corresponding frequency that the crystal has been cut to and only at this frequency, it effectively allows a signal to pass through. (Technically at this frequency, conduction still does not happen because electrical energy is changed to mechanical and then back to electrical.)

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#4

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 5:14 PM
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#5

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 7:20 PM

Here are a few common examples of conductors and insulators:

Conductors:

  • silver
  • copper
  • gold
  • aluminum
  • iron
  • steel
  • brass
  • bronze
  • mercury
  • graphite
  • dirty water
  • concrete

Insulators:

  • glass
  • rubber
  • oil
  • asphalt
  • fiberglass
  • porcelain
  • ceramic
  • quartz
  • (dry) cotton
  • (dry) paper
  • (dry) wood
  • plastic
  • air
  • diamond
  • pure water
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#6
In reply to #5

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 7:43 PM

Concrete?

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#8
In reply to #6

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 8:31 PM

Concrete is, generally speaking, a poor conductor of electricity, but it is a conductor, and that increases with humidity...Here is a link to some new techniques being tested now to increase this ability, for some surprising benefits...

http://rebar.ecn.purdue.edu/ect/links/technologies/civil/conductive.aspx

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#7
In reply to #5

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 7:46 PM

Plastic?

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#9
In reply to #7

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 8:35 PM
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#11
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Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 8:39 PM

Conductive polymer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plastics is a very broad term and it can, indeed, be conductive.

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#12
In reply to #11

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 9:47 PM

This is from the first paragraph of your wiki link..." Conductive polymers are generally not plastics, i.e., they are not thermoformable. " These conductive polymers are generally called melanins...

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#13
In reply to #12

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 9:51 PM

Let's not get into a semantics argument about plastics and polymers.

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#10
In reply to #7

Re: CONDUCTIVITY

06/03/2012 8:38 PM

In the case of both concrete and plastic it depends. Many plastics are formulated to not be highly insulating to prevent static build up that can harm another product. Think of the tubes and conductive foams used for shipping of chips. In the case of concrete, think of the case of the grounding of a building through the concrete foundation.

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#14

Re: Conductivity

06/06/2012 9:22 PM

No it is not usually a conductor.

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