Difference Between Metallic Conductor and Electrolytic Conductor for JEE Main 2025

• Take a look at a container with two electrodes (the cathode and the anode) submerged in an electrolytic solution of two materials. Assume that A and B are the two electrolyte solutions. Additionally, the same material, which is in an electrolytic solution, makes up the two electrodes. The wire in which an electrical current could flow connects the two electrodes (cathode and anode). 

• The potential difference is now produced when electricity is passed through the conducting wire. The positive free ions of substance A in the electrolyte move towards the negative ions of substance B when a potential difference is created, and they stick to electrode B. 

• Similar to this, substance B's negative ions gravitate towards electrode A and become trapped there. The movement of positive and negative ions that results from this is what is known as electrolytic conduction. Here is a brief explanation of the mechanism behind electrolytic conduction. 

• The following is how electrolytic conduction is expressed mathematically. 

G = 1/R = 1/. A/l

Where G = electrolytic conduction

R = resistance

            P = specific resistance 

            A = cross section area of electrodes

            l = distance between electrodes

Electrolytic conductors can be classified as follows:

Strong Electrolytic conductors

Weak Electrolytic conductors.

• Strong Electrolytic conductors-

Strong acids and bases, such as hydrochloric acid, hydrogen nitrate, sulphur dioxide, potassium iodide, and others, would be considered strong electrolytic conductors. Most inorganic salts would also fall under this category. They are referred to as strong electrolytic conductors because they completely dissociate in both the aqueous state and the molten state. They can therefore conduct electricity very effectively.

• Weak Electrolytic conductors-

However, weak electrolytic conductors are weak acids and bases that have very little dissociation, which limits the amount of electricity they can conduct. The term "non-electrolytes" or "non-Electrolytic conductors" refers to substances like sugar and urea that are completely incapable of conducting electricity.

• Metal atoms' valence electrons have unrestricted motion. As a result, metals have a substantial number of free electrons that randomly move from atom to atom in all directions. Free electrons are in thermal equilibrium with a metallic conductor and move randomly across the surface when no electric field is applied to the conductor. Electrons therefore move at zero speed on average in one direction. There is no current in the conductor because this motion does not result in a net charge transfer through any area of the conductor.

• Each electron is impacted by electrostatic forces when an electric field is applied by connecting a battery to a conductor, and the electrons are accelerated in the opposite direction of the electric field. Thus, the electrons accelerate and acquire kinetic energy. But at the metal's lattice sites, these electrons run into atoms (or ions). When two particles collide, the electrons give up some of their energy to the atoms, slowing them down. The electricity, on the other hand, accelerates the electrons once more as they strike the atoms. The electrons acquire a constant average velocity in the opposite direction of the electric field as a result of these collisions, which bring down their average acceleration to zero. The conductor's current is moved through it at this speed, which is known as the drift speed.

• The chaotic movement of electrons in a metal crystal without an electric field. Drift velocity is the term used to describe the average speed at which free electrons in a conductor move when they are subject to the influence of an electric field.

Electrons move around a metal as a result of metallic conductance. Ions move around a pure liquid or solution through electrolytic conduction.