Overview
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Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with how electricity and chemical reactions are related, especially in electrochemical cells. It includes several key concepts like electrolytic conductance, specific conductance, equivalent conductance, molar conductivity, and Kohlrausch’s law. This topic is important for exams like IIT JEE.
In this article, we’ll focus on specific conductance, what it means, its unit, and the formula you’ll need to solve related numerical problems.
Specific Conductance is the ability of a substance to conduct electricity. It is the reciprocal of specific resistance. Conductance means the flow of current through the liquid conductor. Specific conductance is defined as the conducting capacity of a solution of the dissolved electrolyte and the whole solution is placed between two electrodes 1 sq. cm and length 1 cm.
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Specific conductance, also known as conductivity, is denoted by the Greek letter κ (Kappa). It is the reciprocal of resistivity (ρ), meaning it measures how easily electric current can pass through a solution or material. According to Ohm’s Law, resistance depends on the length and cross sectional area of a conductor; it is directly proportional to length and inversely proportional to area. Using this, specific conductance can be related to resistance through the formula:
κ = 1/ρ = (1/R) × (l/A),
Where R is resistance, l is the length, and A is the cross sectional area. When the length of the conductor is 1 cm and the area is 1cm2, resistivity (ρ) becomes equal to resistance (R). So, resistivity can be defined as the resistance of a material with a length of 1 cm and a cross sectional area of 1cm2.
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Read more about Equivalent Conductance, here.
Specific conductance helps us understand how well a solution can carry electric current. This formula links conductivity with the shape and size of the material through which current flows. It’s commonly used in numerical problems to find how easily ions move in a solution.
The unit of specific conductance is based on the units of length, area, and conductance. Since conductance is measured in ohm⁻¹ (Ω⁻¹) or Siemens (S), and the dimensions involved are in centimeters, the unit of specific conductance becomes S cm⁻¹ or Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹. This unit tells us how well a 1 cm3 portion of a solution can conduct electricity.
Unit of Area = cm2
Unit of length =cm
Unit of conductance = Ω-1
Unit of Conductance = cm-1 Ω-1
Also the unit of conductance = Ω-1 = Seimen
Then, Unit of (specific conductance) = Seimen cm-1
So, the unit of specific conductance is cm-1 Ω-1 or Seimen cm-1.
Also, check out the other topics of Chemistry, here
So, this is all about the Specific Conductance. Get some practice of the same on our free Testbook App. Download Now!
Learn more about Molar Conductance in our detailed article here.
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