Thomas Fitzgerald
ENRT 106
Unit 1 Assignment
Conductors are materials that allow the flow of electricity through them. Materials such
as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, zinc, water, and mercury are all good conductors. Obviously,
they are used to conduct and transmit electricity in everything from power lines to transformers,
to the wiring in your home. Generally, copper and aluminum are used more due to their greater
availability and lower price.
Insulators are materials that prevent the flow of electricity. Materials such as plastic,
glass, porcelain, rubber, mica, and some composite polymer materials are good insulators.
Plastic used for wire covering. Porcelain and glass are used for separating power lines from their
transmission towers. Plastic is used as casing for battery cells. Rubber is used in safety
equipment like high-voltage gloves and rubber mats for racking in breakers.
What I found the most interesting after researching them was semi-conductors. A
semiconductor is a solid material whose electrical conductivity falls somewhere between a
conductor and an insulator. In an atom of a semi-conductor, the valence shell has four electrons,
which causes the substance to form crystals. In their natural state, most semi-conductors do not
have a very high conductivity, until you introduce small amounts of impurities (a process called
doping). If you mix in an element with five electrons in the valence shell, such as phosphorus or
arsenic, it creates an extra free electron, making the semi-conductor negatively charged, or N-
type. If you add an element with three electrons in its valence shell, such as boron or gallium, it
leaves the valence shell short one electron, causing the semi-conductor to be positively charged,
or P-type. Elements such as silicon, carbon, and germanium are good semi-conductors, as well
as alloys like silicon germanium or aluminum gallium arsenide. Semi-conductors are essential to
small electronics and computers, as they can be used for transistors, diodes, LEDs, photo
detectors, and solar cells.