Conducting Materials

Conducting Materials
 Properties of Materials
Electrical Properties
Mechanical Properties
Magnetic Properties
Dielectric Properties
Optical Properties
 Classification of Materials
Based on band gap

Conductors (Copper, Semiconductors Insulators

Brass, Steel, Gold, and (Germanium, Silicon) (plastics, paper,
Aluminum) rubber, glass
Classification - based on Resistivity

Ex: Silver, Copper, Gold , Ex: Tungsten, Carbon,

Aluminium Nichrome , Manganin
 Low resistive materials High resistive materials
 Mercury -Thermometer to  Alloys of copper, nickel,
check the temperature of the chromium, iron and
body manganese - Resistance
 Aluminium -Making foils to materials
store food ,production of fry  Heater elements - Produce
pans to store heat quickly. heat energy from electrical
 Iron energy
- Vehicle engine
manufacturing to conduct  Meter elements - Ammeter
heat shunts and voltmeter
multipliers
 Conductors - use in car
 Controlling of current -
radiators to eradicate heat
Rheostats
away from the engine
 Conducting materials
Metals - good conductors due to the absence of
energy gap -due to the availability of free electrons
Conductivity - 104 to 107 ohm–1 m–1
Current flow in a metal or conductor is very high
Free electron or conduction electron -detached
valence electron from the outer most orbit of the
atom in a metal
Drifting of free electrons under the influence of the
applied electric field -current flow
Electrical conductivity decreases with increase of
temperature and with the addition of impurity
 Conductivity
Conductance – Ability of a substance to allow
electric current to pass through in relation to the
applied voltage (E)
J=E
Conductivity – Reciprocal of resistivity (or) property
of the material allows the electric current to pass
through the material 1
 ohm-1m-1

 Electron Theory of Metals
 Explain the structure and properties of solids
through their electronic structure
 Applicable to all solids – metals and non metals
 Explains - electrical, thermal and magnetic properties
of solids
 Developed in three main stages
1. Classical free electron theory
Drude and Lorentz -1900
Metals containing the free electrons - obey laws of
classical mechanics
2. Quantum free electron theory
 Somerfeld -1928
 Free electrons obey quantum laws. According to this
theory the free electrons are moving in a constant
potential
3. Zone theory
 Bloch stated this theory-1928
 Free electrons move in a periodic field provided by the
lattice
 Free electrons are moving in a constant potential
Classical Free Electron Theory
 1900 - Drude and Lorentz proposed – CFT

 Macroscopic theory

 Free electrons of metal – Free gas molecules

 Gave explanation for electrical conductivity and

thermal conductivity - Free electron theory
POSTULATES OF FREE ELECTRON THEORY
 A metal composed of many number of atoms
 Each atom have nucleus around which the electrons
are revolving
 Movement of free electrons in an atom is similar to
that of molecules of a gas inside a container
 Absence of external electrical field - electrons move in
random direction. During the movement they may
collide with the positive ions (lattice) and with
neighbouring free electrons. (elastic collisions)
 Free electrons move freely inside the metal without any
mutual interaction between them - obey laws of kinetic
theory of gases

 Classical Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution statistics -

Applied to classical free electron theory of electrons

 Absence of external field, the net movement of electrons

in one direction is zero. Particular direction the
resultant velocity of free electron is zero
 Absence Electric field Presence Electric field

Drift velocity ‘Vd’

Average velocity acquired by a free electron in a
particular direction in the presence of external
electrical field
 Relaxation Time ‘τ’ -Time taken by the free electron to
reach its equilibrium position from its disturbed
position in the presence of external electric field

 Collision time ‘τc’ - Average time taken by a free

electron between two successive collisions

 Mean free path `’ - Average distance travelled

between two successive collisions λ = vd×τc
Mobility
Velocity gained by the electron per unit electric field
Strength
Vd ∝ E
Vd = µE

‘n’ - concentration of free electrons

current density is
J = neVd
= neµE (where Vd = µE)
J = σ E (σ = neµ)
 Electrical Conductivity

‘e’ - charge of the electron

‘n’ - free electron density in the metal
 J = nevd -------------------------------1
where J - current density
Vd - drift velocity
F = eE -------------------------------2
e - charge of the electron
E - electric field intensity
Newton’s second law,
F = ma -------------------------------3
where m - mass of the electron
a - acceleration due to gravity
From Equation 3 & 2
ma=eE
eE
a  --------------------------4
m
Driftveloc ity Vd
a 
Time 
Vd
a

Vd  a ---------------------------5

Substituting equation 4 in equation 5

 eE τ
Vd 
m
------------------------------- 6

Sub., 6 in equation 1

eE
J  ne 
m
E
Jne
2
--------------------------- 7
m
Microscopic form of ohm’s law
J=E ---------------------------------8

Comparing 7 & 8
 σE  n e 2 E 
m

ne2
σ  ---------------------------- 9
m

- coefficient of electrical conductivity

Electrical conductivity
Quantity of charges flowing per unit area per unit time
maintained across unit potential gradient.
Unit : Ohm−1m−1
Thermal Conductivity- Derivation

Thermal conductivity
Coefficient of thermal conductivity
per unit area per unit time
--------1
 1
No., of electrons per unit area per unit time = nv
6

Net heat energy transferred across Y

per unit area per unit time
------------------------ 2
 -----------3

Sub., 3 in 2

Amount of heat energy conducted per unit area per unit

time when unit temperature gradient is maintained
between two ends
Unit : W m–1 K–1
 Review Questions
The unit of electrical conductivity is mho m-1
The resistance of the most of the conducting
Increasesmaterials with increase in temperature
The average distance travelled by an electron between
Mean free path
two successive collisions is called
The energy difference between the valence band and
Band gap
conduction band is
Time taken by an electron to reach its equilibrium
position from the disturbed position due time
Relaxation to the
application of external field is
Thank You