A metal rod held in hand and rubbed with wool will not show any sign of being charged. However, if a metal rod with a wooden or plastic handle is rubbed without touching its metal part, it shows signs of charging. Suppose we connect one end of a copper wire to a neutral pith ball and the other end to a negatively charged plastic rod. We will find that the pith ball acquires a negative charge. If a similar experiment is repeated with a nylon thread or a rubber band, no transfer of charge will take place from the plastic rod to the pith ball. Why does the transfer of charge not take place from the rod to the ball?
Some substances readily allow passage of electricity through them, others do not. Those which allow electricity to pass through them easily are called conductors. They have electric charges (electrons) that are comparatively free to move inside the material. Metals, human and animal bodies and earth are conductors. Most of the non-metals like glass, porcelain, plastic, nylon, wood offer high resistance to the passage of electricity through them. They are called insulators. Most substances fall into one of the two classes stated above*.
When some charge is transferred to a conductor, it readily gets distributed over the entire surface of the conductor. In contrast, if some charge is put on an insulator, it stays at the same place. You will learn why this happens in the next chapter.
This property of the materials tells you why a nylon or plastic comb gets electrified on combing dry hair or on rubbing, but a metal article like spoon does not. The charges on metal leak through our body to the ground as both are conductors of electricity.
When we bring a charged body in contact with the earth, all the excess charge on the body disappears by causing a momentary current to pass to the ground through the connecting conductor (such as our body). This process of sharing the charges with the earth is called grounding or earthing. Earthing provides a safety measure for electrical circuits and appliances. A thick metal plate is buried deep into the earth and thick wires are drawn from this plate; these are used in buildings for the purpose of earthing near the mains supply. The electric wiring in our houses has three wires: live, neutral and earth. The first two carry electric current from the power station and the third is earthed by connecting it to the buried metal plate. Metallic bodies of the electric appliances such as electric iron, refrigerator, TV are connected to the earth wire. When any fault occurs or live wire touches the metallic body, the charge flows to the earth without damaging the appliance and without causing any injury to the humans; this would have otherwise been unavoidable since the human body is a conductor of electricity.
So, What Are Conductors and Insulators?
In simple terms, an electrical conductor is defined as materials that allow electricity to flow through them easily. This property of conductors that allow them to conduct electricity is known as conductivity. The flow of electrons in a conductor is known as the electric current. The force required to make that current flow through the conductor is known as voltage. When a charge is transferred to such an element, it gets distributed across the entire surface of the object, which results in the movement of electrons in the object. The charges transferred to an electrical conductor distribute until the force of repulsion between electrons in areas of excess electrons is decreased to the minimum value. When such an object is brought in contact with another conductor, the charge gets transferred from the first conductor to the other until the overall repulsion due to charge is minimized. Metals, humans, and earth are all conductors. This is the reason why we get electric shocks! Some of the common conductor examples include metals such as: copper, gold and iron.
Insulators are materials that hinder the free flow of electrons from one particle of the element to another. If we transfer some amount of charge to such an element at any point, the charge remains at the initial location and does not get distributed across the surface. The most common process of charging of such elements is charging by rubbing (for some elements, with the help of suitable materials)
Some of the common insulator examples are given below: plastic, wood and glass.
Differences between Conductors and Insulators
| Conductor | Insulator |
|---|---|
| Materials that permit electricity or heat to pass through them. | Materials that do not permit heat and electricity to pass through them. |
| A few examples of conductors are silver, aluminum, and iron. | A few examples of insulators are paper, wood, and rubber. |
| Electrons move freely within the conductor. | Electrons do not move freely within the insulator. |
| The electric field exists on the surface but remains zero on the inside. | The electric field doesn’t exist inside an insulator. |
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