In a conductor, the valence band is partially filled, and since there are numerous empty levels, the electrons are free to move under the influence of an electric field; thus, in a metal the valence band is also the conduction band. In an insulator, electrons completely fill…

Because of its high electrical conductivity (71 percent that of copper) and inertness, the largest industrial use of gold is in the electric and electronics industry for plating contacts, terminals, printed circuits, and semiconductor systems. Thin films of gold that reflect up to 98 percent of incident infrared radiation…

…lightning was an example of electric conduction by flying a silk kite during a thunderstorm. He collected electric charge from a cloud by means of wet twine attached to a key and thence to a Leyden jar. He then used the accumulated charge from the lightning to perform electric experiments.…

…first quantum mechanical treatment of electrical conduction in metals was provided in 1928 by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld, who used a greatly simplified model in which electrons were assumed to roam freely (much like non-interacting molecules of a gas) within the metal as if it were a hollow container.…

…basis of their ability to conduct electric currents. High resistivity designates poor conductors.