Insulators Conductors Materials & Experiments

This is the second chapter in our series for younger visitors keen to know more about our favorite topic, batteries. And what we can do with them through safe, low voltage electricity too. We pause to chat briefly about insulators conductors materials and so on, before launching into our first experiment courtesy Boston University.

Materials May Be Insulators or Conductors

Did you ever wonder why the high-voltage electric cables on a transmission tower hang on glass, porcelain, or composite discs? Well, the discs are there to isolate the rest of the tower from the high-voltage cables that conduct the energy. And that you could gauge the voltage by the length of the insulator too?

All electrical circuits have insulators conductors and other materials to safely regulate the flow of current through them. In a nutshell then:

Conductors are materials electrons can easily flow through. We call them conductors because they conduct electricity
Insulators are materials that retard the flow of electrons. We call them insulators because they prevent electricity from moving.

Most metals make great conductors. Examples include copper, gold, silver etc. Most batteries also have metal in one of their electrodes.

Solid, non-insulators are all around us. We mentioned glass and porcelain earlier, although the actual list of insulators is longer than that.

Always test an insulator or a conductor before using it, and trial your circuits with a multi meter before they go live. Stay out of trouble – use electricity, seriously!

Some Preparation for Your First Experiment

Working with insulators conductors, and other materials requires special equipment, and skills which we explain as we go along. Try to have the following available when we meet on Tuesday next.