Difference between Conductors and Non metals
Conductors
- Substaces which allows to carry heat and electricity through them are knonw as conductors.
- Conductors are also known as electropositive substances as they can donate an eletron to complete its orbit.
- Conductors have some loosely bounded electrons present in its last orbit termed as free electrons.
- Free electrons can made available for conduction if any external source of energy is given, and acts as charge carriers and constitutes an electric current.
- Apart from the electricity, conductors have wide range of application in heat energy also.
- Conductors can expands when heat is given to them, this charactersitics of conductors is useful in devices like thermometer, electric iron, geyser etc.
Non metals
- Non metals are known as electronegative substances as they can accepts an eletron to complete its orbit.
- In Non metals electrons in last orbit are more as compared to metals so can not made free easily.
- Due to strong binding of electrons in last orbit i.e. valence electron, no free electrons are available in non metals.
- Absence of free electrons makes non metals not suitable for carrying electric and heat energy, hence termed as insulators.
- Hence Non metals are considered as poor or bad conductors of heat and electricity.
- Non metals posseses high resistance to flow of current.
- Non metals have low density.
- Non metals don’t have properties like lusture, ductility and malleability.
- Eg. Non metals like wood are considered as the important insulatiog material.