Electricity is all around us. It powers our lights, fans, phones, and even the laptop or mobile screen you’re reading this on. But have you ever wondered how electricity flows from one point to another?
This is where electrical conductivity comes in.
Let’s break it down in simple words and explore 10 real-life electrical conductivity examples that you’ll easily relate to.
What is Electrical Conductivity?
Electrical conductivity is the ability of a material to allow electric current to pass through it. In other words, if something has high electrical conductivity, electricity can flow through it easily. If it has low conductivity, electricity either flows very slowly or not at all.
Materials like copper and aluminum are good conductors. That’s why they’re used in wires. Materials like plastic or rubber are poor conductors. These are known as insulators.
Now, let’s look at 10 common examples of electrical conductivity that we come across in our daily lives.
10 Electrical Conductivity Examples
1. Wires in Our Homes
The most basic and clear example of electrical conductivity is the electric wires used at home. These wires are made from copper or sometimes aluminum because both these metals are excellent conductors of electricity.
Why copper?
Because it allows electric current to pass quickly and safely with very little resistance. That’s why all the power in your home, from fans and lights to AC and fridge, reaches you through copper wires hidden inside your walls.
2. Lightning Striking a Tree or Metal Object
Ever wondered why lightning usually hits tall trees or metal poles? That’s because the air itself is a poor conductor of electricity. But when lightning strikes, the electricity looks for the shortest and most conductive path to the ground.
Trees, being full of water, become better conductors than air. Metal poles are even better. So the lightning chooses them as a path. This is a real-life example of how nature finds materials with higher electrical conductivity.
3. Your Smartphone Screen
When you touch your smartphone screen, it responds instantly. How does it know where you touched?
Most smartphones use something called a capacitive touchscreen. These screens are made with materials that conduct electricity slightly. When your finger (which also conducts electricity) touches the screen, it changes the electric field at that spot. The phone detects this change and responds.
So, even your touch is an example of electrical conductivity in action.
4. Metal Spoon vs Wooden Spoon
Try this simple activity. Take a metal spoon and a wooden spoon. Touch both to a battery terminal (don’t try this with wet hands). You’ll see that the metal spoon allows current to pass, but the wooden spoon does not.
This is because metal is a conductor and wood is an insulator. This is a great example to explain what is electrical conductivity using materials found in your kitchen.
5. Water with Salt
Pure water doesn’t conduct electricity well. But when you add a pinch of salt, it suddenly becomes a better conductor. This is because salt breaks into ions in water, which help in carrying electric current.
This is why electricians advise turning off the main switch during floods or rain inside the house. Water mixed with minerals becomes a conductor and can cause short circuits or shocks.
6. Switches and Buttons
Every time you press a switch to turn on a light or a fan, you are allowing an electric current to pass through a metal path. The inside of the switch contains small pieces of metal, usually copper or silver.
Once pressed, the circuit completes, and electricity flows. The conductivity of the metal allows the switch to work smoothly and instantly.
7. Human Body
Yes, our body is also a conductor of electricity. That is why we can get electric shocks if we touch a live wire. The human body is made up of about 70% water, and the salts in our body help in carrying electric current.
This is why electricians wear rubber gloves and stand on wooden stools or rubber mats while working. Rubber is an insulator that stops electricity from passing through the body.
8. Electronic Devices like Remote Controls
Inside a remote control, when you press a button, it touches a conductive layer that sends a signal to the device. This layer is made from carbon or metallic paint that has good electrical conductivity.
This low-voltage conductivity is enough to send instructions to your TV, fan, or air conditioner. These little systems are examples of how electrical conductivity works even in small gadgets.
9. Electric Heaters and Geysers
Heaters and geysers use resistance coils made from materials that conduct electricity but also resist it slightly. These coils get hot as electricity passes through them, and that heat is used to warm water or the air.
Materials like nichrome (a mix of nickel and chromium) are used in these coils. They have good electrical conductivity along with high resistance, making them ideal for heating elements.
10. Electric Fences or Bug Zappers
In farms or even in homes, electric fences or mosquito zappers use electricity to create a small shock when touched. The metal wires used in these tools are highly conductive, allowing current to flow quickly and do its job, whether it’s keeping animals out or killing bugs.
These tools are based completely on the concept of electrical conductivity and show how it’s used in daily-life security and safety tools.
Learning Electrical Concepts at Atal Tinkering Labs
Understanding what is electrical conductivity is not just about reading it in books. At Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), students can learn by doing.
They can perform hands-on experiments using simple circuits, batteries, and household materials. For example:
- Testing which objects conduct electricity (coin, rubber, spoon, pencil lead)
- Making a mini torch using a battery, LED, and wire
- Designing their own electric buzzers or alarm systems
ATLs are designed to make students curious about science and help them understand how everyday things work. These labs build critical thinking, creativity, and basic engineering skills among school students.
ATALUP: Helping Schools with Smooth ATL Setup
Setting up an ATL lab and running it smoothly can be challenging for schools. That’s where ATALUP becomes helpful.
ATALUP is a smart support system that guides schools through the full ATL journey, from applying for grants to managing equipment, scheduling STEM activities, and tracking student progress. With ready-to-use learning content, experiment guides, and real-time tracking, ATALUP ensures every ATL lab becomes a space of innovation.
ATALUP not only supports ATLs but also thinks beyond support. We have launched an app where students can learn STEM using items available at home, like a straw, a water bottle, a magnet, etc.
Start Exploring
https://apps.apple.com/in/app/atalup/id1535183797 – For iPhone Users
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stemious.stemiousapp – For Android Users
Final Thought:
Electricity is everywhere, and electrical conductivity is the reason we can use it in so many ways. From phone screens to fans and remote controls, it’s all about how well different materials let electricity pass through.
By giving students access to labs and tools like ATL and ATALUP, we are helping them move from textbook knowledge to real-world understanding. And that’s how tomorrow’s inventors begin, by asking simple questions today.