Conductor, Electrical

Conductor, Electrical, any material that offers little resistance to the flow of an electric current. The difference between a conductor and an insulator, which is a poor conductor of electricity, is one of degree rather than kind, because all substances conduct electricity to some extent. A good conductor of electricity, such as silver or copper, may have a conductivity a billion or more times as great as the conductivity of a good insulator, such as glass or mica. A phenomenon known as superconductivity is observed when certain substances are cooled to a point near absolute zero, at which point their conductivity becomes almost infinite. In solid conductors the electric current is carried by the movement of electrons; in solutions and gases, the electric current is carried by ions.