Is graphite a conductor of electricity?

Answer 1

YES!!!

Graphite is an allotrope of Carbon. Anyone carbon atom wants to make FOUR bonds with adjacent atoms. However, in graphite it only makes THREE bonds, leaving a 'loose' electron. This electron is able to move , hence conduction of electricity.

By comparison, Diamond is also an allotrope of Carbon. However, in this case all four bonds are made to adjacent atoms. This leaves no 'spare' electrons, so diamond does NOT conduct electricity.

A third allotrope of Carbon is the Buckminster Fullerene (Footballene). It is thought that the fullerene can act as a 'super conductor'.

Answer 2

Yes, graphite is a conductor of electricity.

You can do the following to prove it to!

1. Do the following demonstration to see if the graphite "lead" inside a pencil is a conductor. You will need a 6-volt lantern battery, a small flashlight bulb, a pair of metal scissors (with no insulating plastic or rubber on them), and a pencil with the eraser and its holder sawn off.

1. Put the bottom end of the light bulb on the end of the pencil where the eraser would be, taping it in place, but keeping a part of the bottom exposed.
2. Stand the battery upright. With one hand, hold the tip of the pencil onto the positive terminal (marked with a "+" symbol) of the battery. Hold the pencil up vertically. Hold the scissors open with your other hand, and touch the tip of one blade onto the negative terminal of the battery (marked with a "-" symbol). With the tip of the other blade, touch the bottom of the light bulb. What happens? Is the graphite inside the pencil a conductor of electrical current? How about the scissors?

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Experiment By Oak Meadow

Answer 3

Yes.