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Question:

Steel or wood?? About the resistivity?

Which one has more electrical resistivity? Wood or steel? And why?I know that the resistivity depends on the material of the conductor, but i want a perfect explaination please.Thnx in advance :)

Answer:

Wood is made up of elements which are non-metals with a high electron affinity. Specifically, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and some nitrogen. Furthermore the covalent bond structure in wood means electrons are tightly bound and cannot move easily from atom to another. Not without adding a great deal of energy to the first. Steel is mostly iron, which is a metal. Metals have low electron affinity. The outer electrons in metals are bound very loosely, so that they can move from atom to atom using almost no energy. Metals tend to conduct electricity very easily.
Wood, and it depends on the elements making up the 'conductor' .. and how 'mobile' electrons are in the material .. To a first approximation (non-exotic materials), if the elements form molecules where electrons are 'weakly bound', then that material will conduct electricity. The 'weaker' the binding (and the more electrons), the better the conductor .. (it is, of course, much more complicated than that .. see link)
Steel is a conductor while wood is an insulator. There are no free electrons available in wood for conduction of electricity to take place. So wood has more electrical resistivity than that of steel.
Steel Resistivity

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