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why do metals conduct electricity and non metals dont?

We know that metals have a tendency to lose electrons. Thus, metals are actually an orderly collection of positive ions surrounded by and held together by their valence electrons, present as free electrons. These electrons are mobile and are evenly spread out throughout the crystal. Each metal atom contributes one or more electrons towards this sea of mobile electrons. These free and mobile electrons are responsible for high thermal and electrical conductivity of metals.

@Ann Anna and pranesh, good answer. Keep it up!!!!

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metals contain lot of free electrons while nonmetals don't have it

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metals conduct electricity due to the prescence of free electrons which are absent in non-metals

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Conductivity of a substance is depend on the number of free electrons present in its outermost shell. Metals have either 1, 2 or 3 electrons in their outermost shell and can easily conduct electricity. Due to the more number of valence electrons in the outermost shell of the non-metals, they are held by the nucleus by a stronger force of attraction. Therefore, they do not conduct electricity...

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