We have so far dealt with Ohm's law and conductivity in general, and hope you understand the concept.

You may wonder, however, what it has to do with the measurement of the conductivity of water--the
real question from the beginning. So, we are now going into the main subject.
So far, we have discussed the flow of electricity through an electric wire. A metal, such as in an
electric wire, contains a great number of free electrons. These electrons pass electric current from
one to the next, just like a line of people forming a bucket brigade. Such a metal is called a
conductor.
The next subject involves what is called an ion conductor, basically ions in an electrolyte
solution, which also affect the conducting of electricity.
We will now discuss some of the new terms that have come up. When a certain substance is
dissolved in liquid--water in the case of Twin--and if the liquid thus obtained can conduct
electricity, such a liquid is called an electrolyte solution, and the dissolved substance is called an
electrolyte. And each corpuscle that carries electricity is called an ion (a Greek word meaning
wanderer).
Common table salt (NaCl) is an electrolyte, and when this is dissolved in water to form salt
water, it becomes sodium ions (Na+) and chlorine ions (Cl-), each of which is a corpuscle that
conducts electricity.
Let's go back to conductivity. Conductivity is an index of how easy it is for electricity to flow. In
water, it is the ions that pass electricity from one to the next. This means that the more Na+ and
Cl- contained in water the more electricity is carried, and the higher the conductivity.
To sum up, if we know the conductivity of a sample of salt water, we can calculate just how salty
the water is. (This is what happens in the salinity conversion to arrive at the value displayed by
the Twin conductivity meter.)
Salinity (density of salt in salt water) and conductivity
Liquid temperature 25°C
NaCl density Conductivity NaCl density Conductivity
(W / V) % (mS / cm) (W / V) % (mS / cm)
0.1 2.0 1.1 19.2
0.2 3.9 1.2 20.8
0.3 5.7 1.3 22.4
0.4 7.5 1.4 24.0
0.5 9.2 1.5 25.6
0.6 10.9 1.6 27.1
0.7 12.6 1.7 28.6
0.8 14.3 1.8 30.1
0.9 16.0 1.9 31.6
1.0 17.6 2.0 33.0
1-5 Strong Electrolytes, Weak Electrolvtes
You now understand that we can determine the salinity of salt water by knowing its conductivity.
Some of you may wonder whether sugar water can also be measured. Unfortunately, a
conductivity meter cannot tell you the density of sugar in water. Although sugar is soluble in
water, it does not form ions, which means that it is not an electrolyte. Only when ions are
produced in water can the density of the dissolved substance be calculated from conductivity
measured using a conductivity meter.
Like a human, an electrolyte has a variety of properties. Electrolytes can be broadly divided into
strong electrolytes and weak electrolytes. Let's spend some time on this subject.
Strong electrolytes
Salt contains NaCl and KCl, which form electrolytes when dissolved in water, most of which
become ions. The relationship between density and conductivity is nearly linear. As is seen in the
diagram, however, unlike the low-density zone, the high-density zone does not show an increase
in conductivity with a further increase in density. There comes a saturation point not unlike a
traffic jam, where the ions act against each other, and this makes it hard for electricity to flow.
Weak electrolytes
In a very low density zone, conductivity has a linear relationship with density, as is seen with
organic acids. Acetic acid solution is a good example. However, as density increases, the rate of
ionization decreases. In the high-density zone, only part of the electrolyte is ionized, and the
overcrowding causes most of the potential ions to remain dissolved in water as molecules.

SALT CONDUCT ELECTRICITY NOT SUGAR

I think it can be explained by the fact that when you put salt into water, salt molecules NaCl divide
themselves into ions : Na+ and Cl- . As they carry an electrical charge, they are put in motion by the
electrical field created by the generator (a battery for example), thus a current can flow in salted water
and it is said that salted water conducts electricity. It's a bit the same thing in metals for electrons,
which carry a negative charge. Sugar molecules do not divide themselves into ions when they are put
into water, they remain neutral, so they cannot participate to conductionTake your craft sticks (or
popsicle sticks) and cover them with tin foil.
2
Take the red wire of your buzzer and attach it with masking tape to the positive end of your
battery (you'll see a plus sign)
3
Take the black wire of the buzzer and attach it with masking tape to one of the foil-covered craft
sticks. Really tape it down. If the wire pulls away from the stick, the experiment will not work.
4
Take the remaining craft stick and tape it to the negative electrode on the battery. Again, really
use that masking tape to be certain the tin foil stays in contact with the negative end of the
battery.
5Test your Tester
Gently touch the two craft sticks together. If you've made your tester properly, you'll hear a
buzz. Be prepared, the first buzz may make you jump a little
. 6Test your Salt Water

Dip the two ends of your tester into the salt water. Leave a small gap between the sticks of one
to two inches. If the buzzer buzzes, you are conducting electricity.
7Test other Liquids

Once you've tested salt water, you may find yourself wanting to test every other liquid in the
house. We tested tap water, salt water, V-8, soda and even ice cubes.