Table of Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity

Table of Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity This table presents the  electrical resistivity and electrical conductivity of several materials.   Electrical resistivity, represented by the Greek letter Ï  (rho), is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. The lower the resistivity, the more readily the material permits the flow of electric charge. Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal quantity of resistivity. Conductivity is a measure of how well a material conducts an electric current. Electric conductivity may be represented by the Greek letter ÏÆ' (sigma), ÃŽ º (kappa), or ÃŽ ³ (gamma). Table of Resistivity and Conductivity at 20 °C Material Ï  (ÃŽ ©m) at 20  °CResistivity ÏÆ' (S/m) at 20  °CConductivity Silver 1.59Ãâ€"10−8 6.30Ãâ€"107 Copper 1.68Ãâ€"10−8 5.96Ãâ€"107 Annealed copper 1.72Ãâ€"10−8 5.80Ãâ€"107 Gold 2.44Ãâ€"10−8 4.10Ãâ€"107 Aluminum 2.82Ãâ€"10−8 3.5Ãâ€"107 Calcium 3.36Ãâ€"10−8 2.98Ãâ€"107 Tungsten 5.60Ãâ€"10−8 1.79Ãâ€"107 Zinc 5.90Ãâ€"10−8 1.69Ãâ€"107 Nickel 6.99Ãâ€"10−8 1.43Ãâ€"107 Lithium 9.28Ãâ€"10−8 1.08Ãâ€"107 Iron 1.0Ãâ€"10−7 1.00Ãâ€"107 Platinum 1.06Ãâ€"10−7 9.43Ãâ€"106 Tin 1.09Ãâ€"10−7 9.17Ãâ€"106 Carbon steel (1010) 1.43Ãâ€"10−7 Lead 2.2Ãâ€"10−7 4.55Ãâ€"106 Titanium 4.20Ãâ€"10−7 2.38Ãâ€"106 Grain oriented electrical steel 4.60Ãâ€"10−7 2.17Ãâ€"106 Manganin 4.82Ãâ€"10−7 2.07Ãâ€"106 Constantan 4.9Ãâ€"10−7 2.04Ãâ€"106 Stainless steel 6.9Ãâ€"10−7 1.45Ãâ€"106 Mercury 9.8Ãâ€"10−7 1.02Ãâ€"106 Nichrome 1.10Ãâ€"10−6 9.09Ãâ€"105 GaAs 5Ãâ€"10−7 to 10Ãâ€"10−3 5Ãâ€"10−8 to 103 Carbon (amorphous) 5Ãâ€"10−4 to 8Ãâ€"10−4 1.25 to 2Ãâ€"103 Carbon (graphite) 2.5Ãâ€"10−6 to 5.0Ãâ€"10−6 //basal plane3.0Ãâ€"10−3 ⊠¥basal plane 2 to 3Ãâ€"105 //basal plane3.3Ãâ€"102 ⊠¥basal plane Carbon (diamond) 1Ãâ€"1012 ~10−13 Germanium 4.6Ãâ€"10−1 2.17 Sea water 2Ãâ€"10−1 4.8 Drinking water 2Ãâ€"101 to 2Ãâ€"103 5Ãâ€"10−4 to 5Ãâ€"10−2 Silicon 6.40Ãâ€"102 1.56Ãâ€"10−3 Wood (damp) 1Ãâ€"103 to 4 10−4 to 10-3 Deionized water 1.8Ãâ€"105 5.5Ãâ€"10−6 Glass 10Ãâ€"1010 to 10Ãâ€"1014 10−11 to 10−15 Hard rubber 1Ãâ€"1013 10−14 Wood (oven dry) 1Ãâ€"1014 to 16 10−16 to 10-14 Sulfur 1Ãâ€"1015 10−16 Air 1.3Ãâ€"1016 to 3.3Ãâ€"1016 3Ãâ€"10−15 to 8Ãâ€"10−15 Paraffin wax 1Ãâ€"1017 10−18 Fused quartz 7.5Ãâ€"1017 1.3Ãâ€"10−18 PET 10Ãâ€"1020 10−21 Teflon 10Ãâ€"1022 to 10Ãâ€"1024 10−25 to 10−23 Factors That Affect Electrical Conductivity There are three main factors that affect the conductivity or resistivity of a material: Cross-Sectional Area: If the cross-section of a material is large, it can allow more current to pass through it. Similarly, a thin cross-section restricts current flow.Length of the Conductor: A short conductor allows current to flow at a higher rate than a long conductor. Its a bit like trying to move a lot of people through a hallway.Temperature: Increasing temperature makes particles vibrate or move more. Increasing this movement (increasing temperature) decreases conductivity because the molecules are more likely to get in the way of current flow. At extremely low temperatures, some materials are superconductors. Resources and Further Reading MatWeb Material Property Data.Ugur, Umran. Resistivity of steel. Elert, Glenn (ed), The Physics Factbook, 2006.Ohring, Milton. Engineering Materials Science. New York: Academic Press, 1995.  Pawar, S. D., P. Murugavel, and D. M. Lal. Effect of Relative Humidity and Sea Level Pressure on Electrical Conductivity of Air over Indian Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 114.D2 (2009).