Titanium has a conductivity of 17W/mK which falls in the low electric conductivity category along with the other metals like Tin, Lead, and stainless steel. That is one of the reasons why now titanium is being widely used as implants. And even though it is being used for some applications in engines as an insulator.
Titanium is considered a much better conductor than an insulator despite having such low conductivity. However, Titanium can be used as an electric resistor considering the higher electric resistivity as compared to the other metals. To more about titanium and its conductivity, keep digging further.
Is Titanium Conductive?
The flow of the electrons through the metal or any other materials is when there is a drop in the potential is called conductivity. And considering all the metals, metalloids, and nonmetals in the periodic table, metals are mostly used as electric conductors.
Even though metalloids behave as both metals and nonmetals. Still, the structural configuration and availability of metal components make it more suitable for conductors as well as insulators. Now as far as the Titanium is concerned, it is not the best metal when you are looking for a conductive metal.
Compared to Silver, Copper, Gold, and Aluminum, Titanium has quite low conductivity which makes it nearly unsuitable as a conductor. But with such low conductivity, Titanium can be used as an effective electric resistor.
Is Titanium a Good Electricity Conductor?
Titanium is considered one of those transitional metals in the periodic table. And compared to other metals, titanium is relatively a poor conductor of electricity. If you compare titanium to copper, you will find it more than 30 times less as a conductor of electricity.
Stainless steel might be one of the metals that come close to titanium considering the conductivity. However, titanium behaves more like an insulator than a conductor. Because it forms a protective layer to prevent corrosion when the metal is exposed to air.
So if you want your desired conductivity from titanium, you will have to strip or scrape the protective layer off. Besides, titanium is being used nowadays as a resistor due to its low conductivity of electricity. If you want to hinder the flow the electricity through any metal, using titanium there can be quite effective.
Is Titanium a Conductor or an Insulator?
As we have mentioned before titanium functions quite poorly when it comes to being an electricity conductor. And compared to a good conductor like copper, the efficiency is pretty low. So if you focus only on the conductivity of the titanium, this shiny metal is not going to provide you with a great result.
Then again, this low conductivity of titanium makes it a suitable insulator. However, titanium is capable of insulating the components from the effect of heat and that makes it suitable for some particular applications in engines.
The main reason behind this is the protective layer that helps the metal to prevent corrosion when it is overexposed to the air.
What Is the Conductivity of Titanium?
Titanium’s thermal conductivity is 17 W/mK if the metal is pure which is still quite low compared to other metals that are vastly used as an electric conductor. Here W/mK means Watt per Meter by Kelvin. And the higher the number, the better or more conductivity the compound has.
As for Copper, its thermal conductivity is 58.7 W/mK and that is why we rely on copper for its availability and reasonable price. And electric resistivity of this particular metal is only 1.7 which is one of the lowest among all the other metals.
However, with 62.1 W/mK, Silver has the highest conductivity as well as the lowest electric resistivity. Apart from these, Gold and Aluminum is the other alternative because of their high electric conductivity.
Does Titanium Have Low Conductivity?
Compared to the other metals that are being widely used as conductors due to their high conductivity as well as low electric resistivity, Titanium has quite low conductivity. Titanium has an electric conductivity of 17W/mK which is nearly as low as the Lead or Grain-oriented electrical steel.
But it has a higher electric resistivity of 4.20×10−7 ρ (Ω•m) at 20 °C. So if you consider the electric resistivity of the other metals like Silver, Copper, and Gold, this is quite high. And that can be a vital reason why the manufacturer prefers titanium as a durable resistor.
Conclusion
Although Titanium has a low electric conductivity, it is a much better conductor than an insulator. Anyway, it has some significant applications as an insulator in manufacturing engines. Otherwise, the manufacturers consider this particular metal as a better electric resistor. Now, is titanium conductive? The clear answer is ‘You’ve got better options.’
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