Conductivity

According to Ohm’s law, the strength of current, C flowing through a conductor of

resistance, R is directly proportional to the potential difference E, applied across the
conductor. This statement may be represented by;

The current is measured in ampere, the potential difference in volt and the resistance in
ohm. The reciprocal of resistance, R, is known as conductance or electrical conductivity
and is expressed in units of reciprocal ohm(r, 0) ohms inverse   mhos or Siemen
(S).

Specific conductivity

Ohm’s law is also valid to electrolytic solutions. Thus the resistance R offered by an
electrolyte to the passage of electricity is proportional to the length I and inversely
proportional to the area of across solution, a of the column of the electrolyte lying
between the electrodes.

Therefore, 

a where p is a constant called resistivity or specific resistance, defined as the resistance

offered by one   of the metal. The reciprocal of specific resistance is known
as specific conductivity. Thus substituting the terms conductivity and specific
conductivity in place of resistance and specific resistance, in the above expression, we
have

 
 

The ratio 1/a is constant for a particular conductivity cell and is known as cell
constant and is denoted by x. If I 1 cm and  , then

Specific conductivity = Conductivity

Thus specific conductivity may be defined as: “The conductivity of one   of the
solution of electrolyte is called specific conductivity”.

Equivalent conductivity

Equivalent conductivity may be defined as: “The conductivity of the solution containing

one equivalent of the electrolyte when placed between two sufficiently large electrodes
kept one cm apart”.

It is denoted by the symbol   (lambda); where V is the volume in mL containing one

equivalent of the solute. The equivalent conductivity is also related with specific
conductivity   and the volume V in mL containing one equivalent of the electrolyte, as: