most conductive metals

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

so what are the most conductive metals in order? brass, gold, copper, silver, platinum, aluminum, steel?

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[johnson 10+ year member]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=most+conductive+metals

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

well that was a waste of my time

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

copper is the most conductive vs cost ... i think gold and platinum are more conductive, but not cost effcient

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

^true;

Also true thermally. (assuming we're talking about electrical conductivity)

Whereas the most thermally conductive material is diamond, which is because of it's density; Which is why it can feel cool to the touch [dissapating the heat from your hand] - which is why it's called 'ice.'

So while a 50karat heatsink would be tits for performance, it's not exactly practical //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

^ true again....

why else is most wire made of copper //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Cobra Commander 10+ year member]

copper is the most conductive vs cost ... i think gold and platinum are more conductive, but not cost effcient

Gold is a poor conductor of electricity. Platinum is 10x better because its pure. Copper is the best...

Steelis so-so and Al sucks. I think brass is better than gold in this sense.

 

[DanWiggins 10+ year member]

http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/electrical.html

Sorted worst to best. Silver is best, with copper a VERY close second (note that copper is lighter per conductivity than silver, and a lot cheaper). Gold is a distant 3rd, and weighs even more. Aluminum isn't too far behind gold, but is 1/5th the weight of gold (about 40% of the weight of copper), meaning you can use more aluminum by volume to get better conductivity per ounce as compared to silver or gold.

Platinum plain out sucks; iron is better than platinum.

Dan Wiggins

Adire Audio®

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

I'd add that silver is also desirable as a thermal interface.

I'm using Arctic Silver - a sort of powdered silver suspension - to mate my FETs to their heatsinks.

http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/thermal.html

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Basic reasons for things being the way that they are:

Copper is not the best conductor (silver is, as stated above), but the cost/conductivity ratio is by far the best. Early in the history of electrical distribution houses were wired with silver wire because it was based purely on the conductive properities and since it was a luxury to begin with cost wasn't much of a consideration. Silver is also very ductile (easy to draw into a wire). Copper and silver both have one serious problem, mix either with moisture and electricity and they oxidize readily ruining their conductive value.

Enter the gold plated terminal. Gold is one of the least readily oxidized elements, so terminals are gold plated to prevent corrosion not because of conductive quality.

Aluminum is a very good conductor and is fairly ductile as well, but it has a few serious problems. First it corrodes very readily, almost instantly, in fact, in pure form. Aluminum oxide is totally nonconductive, and as it corrodes at a connection, the resistance of the junction goes up and generates a ton of heat as current is flowed through it. For high current applications, Al is a terrible choice.

 

[phantomdjx 10+ year member]

Gold is a poor conductor of electricity. Platinum is 10x better because its pure. Copper is the best...

Steelis so-so and Al sucks. I think brass is better than gold in this sense.

u know gold is an element in the periodic table just above platinum and can come in a pure form too. Also it conducts electricity better than platinum.

 

[phantomdjx 10+ year member]

so what are the most conductive metals in order? brass, gold, copper, silver, platinum, aluminum, steel?

Brass is not an element but is an alloy which composed of elements copper and zinc

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

i thought i heard silver was the best, but i figured copper was also very good and more cost effective or whatever

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

well that was a waste of my time

.: blink blink :.

 

[Do_ 10+ year member]

Back during 70's they started wiring lots of houses with aluminum wires. Cue lots of house fires. As stated they would corrode and jump up resistance. My physics teacher lives in an old house that had aluminum wiring that he removed. Some of the highest current wiring like the refrigerator circuit had scorched the insides of the walls. Luckily though they had not gone completely and started a fire.