 General Properties of Conductor: Electrical Conducting

Materials - Copper, Aluminum and its applications, Materials of

High & Low Resistivity-Constantan, Nickel-Chromium Alloy,
Tungsten, Canthal, Silver & Silver alloys.
Characteristics of Copper Alloys (Brass & Bronze).
Materials used for Lamp Filaments, Transmission Lines,
Electrical Carbon Materials, Material used for Solders, Metals &
Alloys for different types of Fuses, Thermal Bimetal &
Thermocouple.
Introduction to Superconductivity and Super Conductors.
Resistance of the conducting material is given as
follows,
 
……....(1)
 
Where,
R = Resistance of the material. (Resistance is defined as
opposition of flow of the current offered by the
conducting material)in Ohm
L =Length of the conductor in m
ρ = Resistivity of material in Ohm-m
A = Area of cross section of the material in m2.
 
The resistivity is the function of the temperature. In conducting
material it varies linearly with temperature and given as,

Where,
ρ0 = Resistivity at temperature 00C in Ω -m.
α0 = Temperature coefficient of resistance at 00C.
ρt = Resistivity at t0C.
t = Temperature of the material in 0C.
The following table shows metal and their respective resistivity at
200C in.

Metal Resistivity at 200C in Ω Metal Resistivity at 200C in Ω

cm cm
Copper 1.682 X10-6 Silicon 6.3 X102
Aluminum 2.669 X10-6 Tungsten 5.65 X10-6
Gold 2.4 X10-6 Zinc 5.91 X10-6
Silver 1.59 X10-6 Magnesium 4.6 X10-6
Iron 1. X10-7 Platinum 1.06 X10-6
Carbon 3.5 X10-6 Constantan 4.9 X10-6
Brass 9.1 X10-6 Manganin 4.8 X10-6
Nickel 6.99 X10-6 Nichrome 1.1X10-6
Germanium 4.5 X10-1
 Classification of Conducting materials

Highly Conductive Highly resistive Super Conductive

There are the various factors affecting the resistivity that are:
1. Temperature.
2. Cold work.
3. Age hardening.
4. Alloying
1. Temperature:
•When the metal is heated, loosely bound electrons are
detached from parental atoms so resistance to flow of
current through the material becomes less.
•But in some metals as temperature increases the electrical
resistance increases. In some metals at absolute zero
temperature resistivity vanishes, such metals are called as
super conductors while this phenomenon is called as Super
conductivity.
2 . Cold Work:
•Localized strains produced by mechanical
treatment of conductors decrease their conductivity.
•A hard drawn copper wire has lower conductivity
than annealed copper.
•Cold work is nothing but altering shape /size of
metal by rolling, drawing, pressing, spinning,
extruding.
3. Age Hardening: Age hardening increases as the
resistivity of an alloy increases. It is use to
strengthen metal. Increasing the hardness of an alloy
by relatively low temperature heat treatment.
4. Alloying:

Alloys generally have a less regular structure than pure metals.

Consequently, the electrical conductivity of a solid solution alloy
drops off rapidly as increased in the alloy content. For an alloy say
copper, the resistivity is given by,
……………in μ-Ω-cm
 
Where, S =Atomic percentage of added impurity.
ρi = Increased in the resistivity for one ohmic percent addition
of impurity.
 
When Ni is added to copper we have,
 
…………in μ-Ω-cm
 
i.e. by addition of 1% of Ni the resistivity of Cu goes up to 1.3 μ-Ω-cm
1. Electrical Properties.
2. Mechanical Properties.
3. Economical factors
Electrical properties are as follows:
•Conductivity of the material should be large.
•Electrical energy dissipation in the form of heat must be low.
•Resistivity of the material must be low.
•Temperature coefficient of the material must be low.
(Temp. coefficient: Relative change in the physical property
when temp. is changed by 1 kelvin.

Rt=R0 (1+ α0 t)
•The conductors should be ductile and malleable.
(Ductile: Drawn into thin wires and malleable:
Drawn into thin sheets.)
•The property of soldering and welding for the
conductors should be high i.e. it should have
minimum contact resistance.
•It should be resistant to corrosion.
•It should withstand stresses and strains i.e. it
should have high mechanical strength.
•Easy to fabricate.
•Durability and low cost.
 •Material should have low cost.
•Material should be easily available.
•It should be easily manufactured.
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The materials as electrical conductors may be
divided into following groups:
•High conductive materials
•Materials used for making solders & contacts
•Materials for high resistivity
These materials should have very low
resistivity. These are used as
conductors in electrical devices and
other apparatus. They are also used for
transmission & distribution of electrical
energy.
Ex: - Copper (Cu) & Aluminum (Al).
Materials used for making solders & contacts:
Tin-Lead solder, which joins copper, bronze, brass etc.

Materials for high resistivity:

These are the materials which are used to make
resistances & heating devices, thermo couples etc.
These materials must withstand high temperature for
long time without melting. They are generally alloys
of metals. Constantan, Nichrome etc.

Other special materials:

Like carbon & lead
 Following are the properties of high
conducting materials:
•Highest possible conductivity.
•Lowest temperature coefficient.
•Sufficient mechanical strength.
•Good rollability & drawability for wire
manufacturing.
•Adequate resistance to corrosion.
•Easily solderable.
 Properties Copper Aluminum
Color Reddish Brown. Silver white with bluish
tinge.
Resistance Resistance changes Less but larger than
with temperature i.e. copper.
temperature
coefficient is large.
Electrical and thermal Higher than Less than Copper.
conductivity Aluminum.
Soldering and welding Excellent. Poor.
capability
Tensile Strength High which varies
from 3-4.8 tones/cm2
Heat dissipation Copper has superior Aluminum has less heat
capacity heat dissipation dissipation capacity.
capacity.
Corrosion resistance Good. Excellent.
ability
 Properties Copper Aluminum
Melting Point 11000C. 6600C.
Electrical resistivity at 200C (in 1.682 2.669
10-6 Ω cm )
Specific Gravity 8.9 2.669

Boiling point 26000C. 18200C.

Density at 200C – g/cm2 8.94 2.703

Thermal conductivity W/m-k 397 240

Temperature coefficient of 0.00412 0.00412
resistance (in /0C )
 Copper Aluminum
It is malleable, ductile and has high It occurs in abundance on earth’s surface.
resistance to corrosion. It is available in various forms of oxides,
sulphates, silicates, phosphates etc.
Moderate to high strength and hardness. It is 3.5 times lighter than copper.
Excellent corrosion resistance, oxidation Pure aluminum is softer than copper, so
and pitting. that it can be rolled into thin sheets (foils).
High electrical and thermal conductivity. The resistivity is about 1.65 times than
copper.
Non-magnetic property. Aluminum is not easily solderable.
Good to excellent machinability, Jointing is the main problem in case of
polishability. Excellent resistant to aluminum conductors.
fatigue, abrasion and wear; relative ease
of joining by soldering, brazing and
welding. When annealed, i.e. first heated
to about 3000-3500C and then cooled,
hard copper becomes soft and has 2-3%
conductivity than hard copper. Annealed
copper can be easily shaped
 Copper Aluminum
As its resistance is low, it is more Used in over head transmission
suitable for making electrical and distribution lines, for bus –
cables, making windings of bars, for ACSR (Aluminum
machines and transformers etc. Conductor Steel Reinforced)
Generally annealed copper is used conductors.
for the above purpose
It is used for making Super purity aluminum can be
electromagnets and printed used in CD’s, electronic kits and
circuit boards (PCB). transistors.
It is used for making electrical Powered aluminum is used in
relays, bus bars and switches. paints, solid rocket fuels. Wide
range household items
 These materials are basically used for
precision electrical measurements. E.g.
Manganin in bridge potentiometer. Some
materials used for all types of rheostats
and other control devices. E.g.
Eureka/Constantan. Materials like
Nichrome, Canthal are used for making
heating devices and furnaces.
 Eureka/Constantan
It is an alloy of copper and Nickel. In which 60%
copper and 40% Nickel are present. Constantan is
having good fatigue life and relatively high elongation
capability.
Properties: 
1.Very stable at high working temperature.
2.It does not rust due to high working temperature.
3.It is having large temperature coefficient of
resistance.
4.Its resistivity remains constant for wide range of
temperature
 Eureka/Constantan
Properties Eureka/Constantan
Color Silver white.
Resistivity at 200C in Ω cm 4.9 X 10 -6
Melting point Near about 13000C.
Specific weight 8.92 g/cm2
Maximum operating 5000C
temperature
Tensile strength 52 kg/mm2
Application: It is used for making rheostat coil and
similar control devices. Constantan used to form
thermocouples with wires made of iron, copper.
 Nichrome
Nichrome is an alloy of nickel (75%-80%),
chromium (20-25%), manganin (1.5%) and a small
amount of Ferrous. It tends to be expensive due to
high nickel content.
Properties:
•Temperature coefficient of resistance is low.
•It withstands high temperature for long time without
oxidizing.
•High corrosion resistant property.
•Resistivity near about 1.1 X 10-6 Ω cm
•Hard material and does not become brittle even at high
temperatures.
 Nichrome
Properties Nichrome
Appearance or Color Silver.
Melting point Near about 13500C.
Resistivity at 200C in Ω cm 1.1 X 10 -6
Tensile strength 75 kg/mm2
Specific gravity 8.4-8.5 g/cm3
Applications:
•It is used as heating element in electrical heaters, furnaces
and electrical iron etc.
•It is widely used in explosives as a bridge wire in electric
ignition system.
•It can be used as internal support structure in ceramics.
 Tungstan
Properties:
•It is having high tensile strength.
•It is ductile in nature (can be drawn into very thin
wires)
•Tungsten has lower coefficient of thermal
expansion.
•Tungsten is chemically inert to acids and alkalis but
oxidizes in the presence of oxygen.
•It is hard metal which does not brittle at high
temperature.
•It has resistivity twice than aluminum.
 Properties Tungsten
Color or Appearance Steel grey color
Melting point Near about 34300 C
Resistivity at 200 C in Ω cm 5.6 X 10-6
Temperature coefficient of resistance 0.00511.

Applications:
•It is used in battery ignition system, X-ray tubes, and
magneto ignition systems.
•Tungsten is used in many high applications such as
light bulb, cathode ray tube and vacuum tube as
filaments, heating elements and nozzles of rocket
engines.
•Vibrators.
 Kanthal
Kanthal (FeCrAl) alloys consist of mainly iron,
chromium (20–30%) and aluminum (4–7.5 %).

Properties:
•It has high melting point (15000 C).
•Low temperature coefficient of resistance.
•It withstands high temperature without oxidizing.

Applications: It is used in electric furnaces as

heating element
 Manganin or Constantan
Manganin is an alloy of typically copper 86%,
manganese 12%, and nickel 2%.
Properties:
•Its resistance is stable for long time.
•Its resistance is high at 4.8 X 10-6 Ω cm at200 C.
•It has low temperature coefficient of resistance i.e.
(0.00015/0C).
•It has high melting point (10200 C).

Applications: It is used in standard coil for

instrument shunts, precision instruments, resistance
boxes and bridge potentiometers etc.
 Silver
Silver is having symbol Ag. It is having highest
electrical conductivity of all elements. Its resistivity is
1.56 X 10-6 Ω cm at200 C.
Properties:
•Ductile and malleable in nature.
•It is having highest electrical conductivity even
greater than copper.
•High thermal conductivity.
•It is having low contact resistance.
•It absorbs free electrons
 Silver
Applications:
•It is used to make ornaments, utensils and coins.
•It is used in electrical contacts and conductors.
•Silver oxide batteries are used to longer life and
high energy/ weight ratio.
•As silver absorbs free electrons it is sometimes
used as a control rods to regulate fission reaction.
 Silver Alloys
Alloy Name Typical Composition in percentage
Sterling silver 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper
Argentium 92.5% silver + 7.5% metalloid germanium.
sterling silver
Billon 60% copper + 40% silver.
Britannia silver 95.84% silver + remaining copper
Electrum Gold and silver but is sometimes found with
traces of platinum, copper, and other metals.
Platinum 92.5% sterling silver and 1%, 3.5% or 5%
Sterling platinum. A small amount of gallium can
also be added to the alloy to ease
manufacturing.
 Copper Alloys
Brass:
Properties Brass
Alloy Copper (60%) & Zinc (40%)
Color / Appearance Bright gold color.
Electrical resistivity in Ω cm 9.1 X 10 -6
Melting point 9000 – 9500 C
 Copper Alloys
Brass:
Properties:
•It has greater mechanical strength and bearing resistance
than copper.
•Brass has low conductivity.
•It has high soldering and welding property.
•Brass has higher malleability than copper or zinc.
•It is cheaper than copper.
•It can be easily electroplated
 Applications of Brass
•It is widely used in manufacturing of electrical
apparatus and current carrying instruments,
structural materials in the fuse holders, lamp
holders, switches, sockets outlets, Sliding contacts
for starters and rheostats.
•Brass can be used for making fan blades, fan
cages and motor bearing.
•It can also be used for fixing for use in cryogenic
systems.
•Used for resistance welding
 Copper Alloy : Bronze
It is an alloy of Copper and tin. It typically has 88% of copper and 12% of tin.
Properties:
•Bronze is less brittle than iron.
•It is reddish yellow in color.
•It is having high resistance to salt water corrosion.
•It has good conductivity.
•Bronze are softer but heavier and have high mechanical strength.
•They are better conductor of heat and electricity.
•Metal to metal friction is less.
•Bronze containing copper, 0.8% cadmium, 0.6% tin and has 50-80% of
conductivity as compared to copper.
•Bronze containing copper, 0.9% cadmium have 85 -95% conductivity to
copper.
•Easily soldered and welded.
•It forms important materials or alloys like phosphorous bronze, silicon
bronze and cadmium bronze
Applications of Bronze:
•It is used for making contact wires, commutator
segments.
•It is used as heating elements.
•It is used for making sliding contacts, current
carrying holders knife edge switch blades.
•Phosphor Bronze is used for current carrying in
brush holders for motors, sliding contacts for
rheostats.
•Silicon bronze is used for making aerial wires,
telephonic wires etc.
•Cadmium bronze are used in case of commutator
segments in case of motors
•A material used for making filaments must have
following properties:
•Low resistance to temperature coefficients.
•High melting point.
•High mechanical strength.
•Ductility.
•No tendency for oxidation.

Mostly Carbon, Tantalum and Tungsten are used as

a filament material due to their following properties.
Tungsten: It has following properties:
•High tensile strength.
•It can be drawn into thin wires.
•Melting point is near about 34500 C.
•Working temperature is 2000 C.
•Thinner the tungsten wire, greater will be tensile strength.
•It is grey in color.
•It satisfactorily works for high temperatures.
•It is a hard material.
•It can be easily welded and soldered.
•Lumen efficiency is large.
Carbon:
High commercial efficiency about 3.8-4.6.
Prevent blackening of bulb. 
Tantalum:
Commercial efficiency about 3.5.
High melting point near 28000 C.
Low resistivity and low temperature coefficient of resistance.
 Transmission line includes wires, coaxial cables, power
lines etc. Copper and Aluminum both can be used for making
transmission lines, but aluminum is used because its
conductivity is next to copper.
In India power transmission is generally done at voltage
levels like 400kV, 220kV, 110kV, 33kV etc. Aluminum
Conductor Steel Reinforcement (ACSR), All Aluminum
Alloy Conductor (AAAC) are used for overhead transmission
lines.

Properties of such materials are as follows:

•Highly resistant to corrosion.
•Ductile and malleable.
•Resistant to moisture.
•Easily available.
•Most economical
 Electrical carbon materials are manufactured from graphite
and other forms of carbon. Graphite occurs in nature as a mineral
with high content of carbon (up to 90% or more.) It is crystalline in
structure and has a very high melting point (about 39000 C). Pure
carbon is semiconductor with a negative temperature coefficient
of resistivity. Carbon has conductivity slightly less than that of
metals and their alloys.
Carbon elements are extensively used as :
•Brushes for electrical machines.
•Carbon electrodes for electric arc furnaces, electrolytic baths
and arc welding.
•Non-wire resistors.
•Arc length.
•Battery cell equipments.
•Microphone powders and other components of
telecommunication equipment etc.
The carbon brushes today are almost universally used for current
collection from the rotating parts of electric machines. Carbon and
graphite are used for this purpose.
Their properties are as follows:
•Carbon does not weld to metals whereas metal weld to one
another, such as the heat of an electric arc.
•Carbon has low density i.e. it is lighter than other metals. The low
inertia of carbon brush makes it easy to follow irregularities of the
moving surface.
•It has a very high melting point. Very high temperature exists under
all rubbing contacts. Carbon can retain its properties under these
conditions due to high melting point (near about 30000 C).
•Resistivity of carbon conductor material is 3-60 X 10-5 ohm meter.
•Crystalline in nature.
•Carbon has conductivity slightly less than that of metals and their
alloys.
•Withstand against high temperature
•Brushes in electrical motors
•Resistors of carbon.
•Rheostats.
•Electrodes in lamps.
•Electrodes in arc welding.
•Components in electronics.
•Communication equipment.
•Electrolytic bath.
•Arc welding
•Carbon can with stand high temperature upto 30000 C.
•It has low density i.e. it is lighter in weight than most of
the materials. Therefore low inertia of carbon brushes
makes it easy to follow irregularities of moving surfaces.
•Alloys such as natural graphite, electro graphite, metal
graphite and hard carbon are used in making brushes of
motors depending upon the variety of current collection.
•It has self lubricating property.
•It is good conductor of electricity.
•It has negative temperature coefficient of resistance
(NTC).
•It is softer than copper or any other conducting material.
•It is cheap.
.
•It is a phenomenon observed in several metals and ceramic
materials. When these material are cooled to temperatures ranging
from near to absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin, - 273 degrees
Celsius) to liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K, - 196 C), their
electrical resistance jump down to zero.
•It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911.
•He observed that, the resistivity of mercury vanished completely
below 4.20 K.
•The temperature at which there is transition from normal state to
superconductive state is called as Transition temperature.
•Resistivity of some metals or chemical compounds becomes zero
when the temperature is brought near 00 K.
•It has been seen that elements such as copper, aluminum, silver
which are good conductors at room temperatures, don’t exhibit the
property of superconductivity.
•Super conductivity depends upon electron – photon interaction and
critical temperatures.
 •The temperature at which electrical resistance is zero is
called the critical temperature (Tc). The cooling of the
materials is achieved using liquid nitrogen or liquid helium for
even lower temperatures. The critical temperature is
known to be inversely proportional to the square root of
the atomic mass.

•Electrical resistance in metals arises due to electrons moving

through the metal which are scattered due to deviations from
transactional symmetry. These are produced either by impurities,
giving rise to a temperature independent contribution to the
resistance, or by the vibrations of the lattice in the metal
•Type I superconductors. Type II superconductors .
Material Transition Material Transition
temperature temperature Material Transition Critical
temp. (K) field (T)

Al 1.19 Ti 0.396
Be 0.1 Rh 0.1
Th 1.41 Pa 1.39
W 0.014 Ir 0.11
Tl 2.38 Mo 0.93 Nbti 10.1 15.5
Ln 3.406 Hf 0.11 PbMos 14.3 6.42
Tc 7.75 Zn 0.84
Hg 4.155 Os 0.69 NbN 15.6 1.61
Ta 4.48 Ru 0.52 Nb3Ge 23.1 39.1
V 5.36 Zr 0.545 Nb3Al 18.8 32.2
Sn 3.720 Cd 0.55
Pb 7.189 U 0.21 Nb3Sn 18.1 24.6
Re 1.41 Lu 0.11
Nb 9.44 Ga 1.081
La 6.1
•It is used to produce strong magnetic fields.
•Superconducting magnets are some of the most powerful
electromagnets ever known. They are used in MRI and NMR
machines, mass spectrometers, and the beam-steering
magnets used in particle accelerators.
•They can also be used for magnetic separation, where
weakly magnetic particles are extracted from a background of
less or non-magnetic particles, as in the pigment industries.
•Superconductors have been used to make digital circuits
based on rapid single flux quantum technology and RF and
microwave filters for mobile phone base stations.
•In future superconductors can used in applications like high
performance smart grid, electric power transmission
transformers, power storage devices, electric motors,
magnetic levitation devices, fault-current: relays, nano tubes,
composite materials etc.