what is the difference between bad conductors and insulators

Hi Rsaurav,

 

In terms of current electricity:

Bad conductors are those which can conduct electricity but offers more opposition (resistance) to the flow of current compared to the flow of current in a good conductor.

 

Example: Drinking water is a bad conductor of electricity; Silver is a very good conductor of electricity. Iron is a bad conductor of electricity compared to copper. 

In bad conductors the strength of the current is reduced.

 

Insulators are those substances that don’t conduct electricity at all. Example: Kerosene is an insulator. Current through an insulator is always zero.

 

In terms of heat theory:

A bad conductor of heat is a substance in which heat takes relatively more time to travel from the hotter end to the colder end. If you heat a silver rod and a steel rod holding the other ends of the rods with your hand, you will observe that heat takes more time to reach the other end of the steel rod than the silver rod. So, steel is a bad conductor of heat compared to silver.

 

Insulators are those which don’t allow heat transfer at all. Examples: Rubber, plastic, wood etc.

 

Hope this helps you.

Keep posting and have a nice day!