Conductivity

[Atlantic]

Does snow conduct electricity? how about ice? how about dry ice?

[atinymonkey]

Yes, yes and what????

[mooeypoo]

Of course it does, it's frozen water O.O

 

AND

check out what I found for ya (two seconds in google, actually

 

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/

 

~moo

[-Demosthenes-]

Snow is full of holes, electricity can just them all sometimes.

[mooeypoo]

Snow is made of water... water is a superb conduit.

I don't really think those holes are big enough to be any problem with the electricity. If anyone would drop a high voltage wiring on snow, then whoever's on it would probably fry - holes or no holes....

 

~moo

[-Demosthenes-]

If the snow was covering a large area (as it often does) then the electriciy from anything short of a lightning bolt would do crap.

[mooeypoo]

Thats not accurate. It's well known that high voltage can "overcome" distances between conducts - like the effect you get in a stun gun. So if the voltage is high enough, there should be no problems overcoming the holes.

It's not like those are 10 feet diameter holes... they're relatively small..

 

~moo

[-Demosthenes-]

if you have enough voltage then I guess you could go miles.

[mooeypoo]

My point is that you don't need THAT MUCH voltage.

 

Any case, the question was if it's conductive.

The answer is yes...

 

~moo

[jpat1023]

Actually you all are slightly mistaken. Water itself does not conduct electricity. Its the particles in the water that do the conducting. If you had perfectly pure water, it would not conduct electricity.

[NSX]

jpat1023 said in post # :

Actually you all are slightly mistaken. Water itself does not conduct electricity. Its the particles in the water that do the conducting. If you had perfectly pure water, it would not conduct electricity.

 

Th'ats right.

It's the ions in the water that allow it to conduct electricity.

[YT2095]

ice containing ions will not conduct either. metals and some semiconductors are the only solids that will sucessfuly pass a current.

[mooeypoo]

Okay so I've lost you, I learned my entire life that water are electricity conduits...

 

Are you saying they're not? O.O

 

I..'m... lost...

 

~moo

[YT2095]

water is a very poor conductor indeed, and the more pure the water the worse the conductor it makes.

that is NOT to say it will not work as a medium for electron flow to earth and I certainly wouldn`t stand bare foot in a puddle of it and hold a live wire!

it`s plenty good enough to overcome skin resistance, but skin has Salt, and that in sollution makes an EXCELLENT conductor

it`s the IONS that count here

[mooeypoo]

Gotcha.. okay so I was wrong But not entirely, concidering the fact the question was about snow. And snow's "dirty" water.. so... err... it should be a cunductor.

 

 

Right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIGHT?!!?!?!?!?!

 

 

<off to kill her physics teacher from third grade>

 

~moo

[YT2095]

well with snow you`ll have elements af acid in it quite simpley from cars and polution, the melting point of the acids in question is well bellow 0c, and so will still be in a liquid state even when the water`s frozen

[mooeypoo]

So I was right!

 

hehe!! jk

it just came as quite a surprise to hear water by itself isn't a conduit.. why are they teaching DIFFERENTLY in school, WHY ??

 

thanks yt

[YT2095]

probably because 100% pure water is such a rarity and that the risk taken by teaching you this against not teaching it and having a few folks dies as a result isn`t worth it. it`s quite true that water and electricity is a BAD combination, but Scientificly under Lab conditions etc... water is at best a useless conductor

[mooeypoo]

Gotcha. Good point about the kids electrecuting themselves btw... remember that for the Organization blike's talking about

 

teehee.

 

Thanks though, I learned something new today always good.

 

 

~moo

[YT2095]

a pleasure

[Atlantic]

so is ice a conductor or not YT?

[Lance]

So why is water not considered a semiconductor? Silicon is an insulator in its pure form.

[YT2095]

it`s not a conductor.

interesting point

[mooeypoo]

I think this has been one of the most educative posts I've ever read.

I also think this is a very good example for the poor education, and thiking that I didn't know this QUITE meaningful detail frustrates me... WHAT ELSE do I not know -- or know wrong of? hmm.

 

Yes, well, thats for another thread. I just wanted to say thanks for the knowledge.

 

And to ask what other daily-things do we THINK are conductors and are actually NOT conductors. This is really interresting...

 

~moo