what element is the best conductor?

Answer 1

Well, it depends on what do you think as "best", because, gold at normal temperature might be the best but very expensive, aluminum has better conductivity per weight unit, but cupper has a better conductivity per volume unit. Thats why they use aluminum for the high-voltage, and cupper for all the main circuits of low voltage, like the ones in your house.

About superconductivity, i found on wikipedia:
"Superconductivity occurs in a wide variety of materials, including simple elements like tin and aluminium, various metallic alloys, some heavily-doped semiconductors and certain ceramic compounds containing planes of copper and oxygen atoms. The latter class of compounds, known as the cuprates, are high-temperature superconductors. Superconductivity does not occur in noble metals like gold and silver when they occur in an elemental form, nor in most ferromagnetic metals, though a number of materials displaying both superconductivity and ferromagnetism have been discovered in recent years; noble metals do exhibit superconductivity when in an alloy. The new high-temperature superconductors are made of a ytterbium alloy in the ratio of a defect perovskite. No one knows why a defect perovskite ratio would exhibit superconductivity."

As the superconductors have zero resistance, one should be awarded as best, as being the less expensive one to obtain.

I found this on the internet

The winners by far SUPERCONDUCTORS... here's a few:
Temperatures at which materials become superconducting (in the absence of a magnetic field).
Titanium @ 0.39K
Zinc @ 0.93K
Uranium @ 1.10K
Aluminium @ 1.20K
Tin @ 3.74K
Mercury @ 4.16K
Lead @ 7.22K
Niobium @ 8.90K
Technetium @ 11.20K

Of which, you have to find the one that works at the highest temperature (cheaper to make it work), so its Technetium, a short-lived isotope.

Answer 2

In science and engineering,conductors are materials that contain movable charges of electricity ,thus proper design of an electric conductor include an estimate of the temperature ....... impt than volume making aluminum the best conductor material for certain applications.

Answer 3

The best conductor around is GOLD!! The fact that we are using copper wire is because it is much cheaper but only slightly less conductive. However, in eletronics where high speed transfers are needed like you mother board and mobile phone chips, they use gold instead of copper. It is normally only small amount of about 10grams or less.

Answer 4

Silver is the best conductor.

Answer 5

Gold and Platinum are the best conductors... and gold does not corrode so it is even better than the rest

Answer 6

If platinum is Pl then nobody 722 has the best three options although not in dollar value order. For us poor folk, settle for copper, aluminum will overheat.

Answer 7

silver,is best conductor of electricity but we use copper in our house wiring because silver is expensive than copper

Answer 8

Pure Silver. (Ag) on the periodic table, Atomic number of 79

Answer 9

It depends on the temperature you're conducting at. I believe there are some tests that show metals near absolute zero are superconductors.

Answer 10

The link is the electrical conductivity of the all the Elements.
You can also select thermal conductivity in that link. What type of conductivity you are asking...