What are some of the strongest conductors of electricity? Why?

In standard practice, electrical conductivity can be measured and understood. Every conductor of electricity has some resistance to electricity, and different levels of magnetic reactions. The heat can also play a role. The main conductivity of standard metals is bronze, iron brass, aluminum and gold. You will find that you require less material to carry the same amount energy over a distance. Because of the way that the metal grains are aligned within the material, silver is a good conductor.

Superconductivity is an exceptional state of matter. It occurs when elements are cooled to very low temperatures. At that point, their electrical resistance drops to zero. This was achieved by cooling elements using liquid helium, which is close to absolute zero (or 0 degrees Kelvin) until very recently. This is a very complex thing.

High temperature superconductors, a new class, have been found to achieve this status above 200K. This allows them to be chilled with liquid hydrogen which has a boiling point of 77K. The superconductivity of hydrogen sulfide at 203K and -70C was achieved under extreme pressure in a laboratory, making them the most high temperature superconductors to date.

However, superconductivity isn’t used for electricity. Its main use is in magnetic applications like magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRI scanners), maglev trains and particle accelerators. They are used to detect weak magnetic forces that result from beam collisions.

 

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