Why does ionic conduct electricity

Dec 16, Excellent question! The short answer is that ions can only conduct electricity when they are able to move. Related questions Question 79c2f. Question cd Why do ionic compounds dissolve in water? When the ions reach their respective electrodes, they either gain or lose electrons to revert to their elemental state.

For dissociated salt, the positively charged sodium ions congregate at the cathode and pick up electrons from the electrode, leaving it as elemental sodium. This process is why ionic compounds conduct electricity in water. Lee Johnson is a freelance writer and science enthusiast, with a passion for distilling complex concepts into simple, digestible language. He's written about science for several websites including eHow UK and WiseGeek, mainly covering physics and astronomy.

He was also a science blogger for Elements Behavioral Health's blog network for five years. He studied physics at the Open University and graduated in Note how "chlorine" changes to "chloride" when it becomes an ion.

What is a Monatomic Ion? Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more.

How do ions conduct electricity? Asked 1 year, 4 months ago. Active 1 year, 4 months ago. Viewed times. Improve this question. Black Fire Black Fire 9 4 4 bronze badges. Ions themselves are already charged, and the motion of charged particles is electric current. The Wikipedia or an online dictionary may be a useful resource. In this liquid state, the charged ions separate and move freely, creating a current of electrical particles that conducts electricity.

Electrical conductivity measures the ability of a substance to produce an electrical current, whereas electricity is the movement of charged particles which form that electrical current.

A current, in the electrical realm, is simply a flow of charges which requires free movement. For the electrical current to form, both movement and conductivity must be present.