What is the conductivity of salts?

Question

Noah Aldrich · Accepted Answer

Salts conduct electricity only when molten or in solution; otherwise, they do not conduct electricity.

Ionic compounds, such as salts, are made up entirely of charged particles called ions, but they are not free to move, which is a necessary condition for conduction of electricity. As a result, ionic compounds cannot conduct electricity when solid. When the compound melts, enough energy is released from the ions to overcome the electrostatic attraction pulling them together and move apart, allowing the ions to conduct electrical current freely. As a result, the static inertia is not maintained. The same thing happens when you dissolve a salt in the right solvent, like water. The polarity of the water causes the ions to dissociate, which frees them up to flow through the liquid and conduct a current.

Natalie Anton · Answer

undefined Solid salts usually have low conductivity because their ions are not free to move, but when dissolved in water, salts usually have high conductivity because they dissociate into ions that allow electric current to flow through the solution.