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Specific Conductance Formula:
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Specific conductance (κ) is a measure of a material's ability to conduct electric current, normalized to a standard geometry. It represents the conductance between opposite faces of a 1-meter cube of the material.
The calculator uses the specific conductance formula:
Where:
Explanation: This formula converts measured conductance to specific conductance by accounting for the geometry of the conductor, allowing comparison between materials of different sizes and shapes.
Details: Specific conductance is crucial for characterizing electrical properties of materials, designing electrical components, quality control in manufacturing, and environmental monitoring of water quality.
Tips: Enter conductance in siemens (S), length in meters (m), and cross-sectional area in square meters (m²). All values must be positive numbers greater than zero.
Q1: What is the difference between conductance and specific conductance?
A: Conductance depends on the geometry of the material, while specific conductance is an intrinsic property that is independent of size and shape.
Q2: What are typical specific conductance values for common materials?
A: Silver: ~6.3×10⁷ S/m, Copper: ~5.96×10⁷ S/m, Sea water: ~5 S/m, Distilled water: ~5×10⁻⁶ S/m.
Q3: How does temperature affect specific conductance?
A: For metals, specific conductance decreases with increasing temperature, while for electrolytes it generally increases with temperature.
Q4: What are the units of specific conductance?
A: SI units are siemens per meter (S/m), but mS/cm is commonly used in water quality applications (1 mS/cm = 0.1 S/m).
Q5: How is specific conductance related to resistivity?
A: Specific conductance is the reciprocal of resistivity: κ = 1/ρ, where ρ is resistivity in ohm-meters.