Materials available
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Copper
Steel
Aluminium
Gold
Lead
Silver
Nb/Sn
Superconductor
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Typically used for home wiring, has a very high conductivity, and good
mechanical properties, especially when alloyed. Price has increased
in recent years.
When exposed to air, it will form an oxide layer and corrode. Used in
nearly all electronics as the conductor on printed circuit boards -
because copper is easy to dissolve!
Many different steels exist, this is a general steel. Due to alloying
elements, the electrical conductivity is lowered.
Yield strength is very high, however, so potenially fewer pylons would
be needed.
Overall, much better used for it's mechanical properties, which can
be altered by adjusting composition and heat treatment.
Strong and light, typically alloyed with silicon
to increase yield strength.
Density is 1/3 that of copper
Conductivity 2/3 that of copper
Alloying can increase strength significantly - at a cost to conductivity.
Can be used in place of copper where weight (or cost) is crucial- such
as in aeroplanes.
One of the best conducuctors, and does not corrode. Unfortunately, it
is very dense, ductile, expensive, and in limited supply.
Better suited to microchip bonding wires - they are small, non load
bearing, and to make the connections, ductile.
Widely used as a thin coating on plugs and sockets as it does not corrode.
Unsuitable for wiring. Dense, poorly conducting, very weak.
It is used in lead-acid batteries for it's chemical properties, not
electrical conductance.
Until recently, was widely used in electronic devices as part of solder,
a eutectic mixture of tin and lead. Use is forbidden via the 'Restriction
of Hazardous Substances Directive' since 2003.
The best electrical conductor!
Unfortunately, poor mechanical properties, high cost, limited supply,
and corrosion limit it's use in electrical systems.
This is special- it's a superconductor (type 1) Accordingly, it needs
cooling (lq He)! While higher temperature superconductors exist (lq
N2), they typically are ceramics, and much harder to shape into a flexible
wire.
Used as the LHC's superconducting magnets, along with 120 tons of liquid
helium.