Multiple choice

Conductivity of electricity is an important property of water and it is well established that the water exists in 3 fundamental forms of matter, i.e. ice, liquid water and gas as water vapours. What is the correct order of the electrical conductivity of these three states?

  1. Ice crystals > water > water vapours

  2. Water > ice crystals > water vapours

  3. Water > water vapours > ice crystals

  4. Ice crystals = water > water vapours

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The correct option will be ice > water > water vapours. The water vapours do not conduct electricity due to inefficiency of transfer of electrons or charges. Ice on the other hand, even being a closed lattice with zero entropy, conducts electricity through proton hops where a proton jumps from one molecule of water to another making it charged. This is done by quantum tunnelling, which is why the conductivity is fastest in ice.