why does snow not conduct electricity?

Answer 1

The snow is fluffed up with air (an insulator) in addition to the low conductivity of pure water.

If you separate sea or fresh water into very fine droplets you can break the electrical path that would normally be present in a solid stream or pool of water. Kind of like chopping up a wire in lots of pieces, the copper is still a conductor but is seperated in space by air(an insulator)

The link referrs to an electrical fire fought with a "high velocity fog" spray of seawater and Co2 extinguishers

Answer 2

well first of all know that water does not conduct electricity. Pure water that is.

Now snow first of all is at a low temperature and the molecules and ions (impurities) that are in this snow are moving slowly and that makes for less of a conductive source. Also the crystals of snow do not have a large precentage of their surface area touching other crystals and the air that is in the middle of these crystals acts as an insulator. So with those 3 conditions snow is a rather poor conducter.

Answer 3

I'm not sure that it doesn't, but there's no snow outside not to check with. I'd imagine it conducts very little if any, though. Pure water is a very poor conductor. Mix a few salts or other impurities into it and it can conduct. If snow is more pure than ditch water, it would be expected to conduct poorly.

Answer 4

Water depends on mobile ions to conduct electricity. Any ions present in snow, which is unlikely itself, would not be mobile.

Answer 5

I've never heard this before. But if it is true, it's because water in its pure form does not produced electricicty. It't he impurities in it like salt that actually causes it to conduct electricity.