Why methane can't conduct electricity?

Answer 1

Your question is not entirely correct in its assumption that gases don't conduct electricity; an ionized gas can conduct electricity very well, and in fact, that is necessary for the functioning of fluorescent light tubes (whether of the large or compact sizes) or neon lighting, which contain gases which become ionized when the light is on. But it is true that a non-ionized gas doesn't conduct electricity, and that is the kind of gas that we normally encounter; the air that we breathe is not ionized. If it were ionized, then all of our electrical equipment, wall outlets etc., would immediately short-circuit.

Electricity acts on electrically charged objects of some kind, it cannot exert its force or interact with uncharged objects. So a normal air molecule is electrically neutral; it has no charge, therefore it has to way to interact with electricity. It does contain electrically charged component parts, which are the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged protons, but they are combined into electrically neutral atoms and molecules in which the positive and negative charges balance each other out. If a gas molecule is ionized by tearing away an electron, you are then left with a postively charged ionized molecule. Or you could add an electron and get a negatively charged ion. It works either way.

Answer 2

Methane is a nonpolar molecule with no net charge. In order for a substance to conduct electricity, it needs to have charged particles (such as ions or electrons) that can move and carry the electric current. Methane lacks these charged particles, so it cannot conduct electricity.

Answer 3

Methane is a covalent molecule and does not break into ions (which are responsible to conduct the electricity between two electrodes) so methane is non conductor.

Answer 4

because it is a bad conductor of electricity

Answer 5

'Cause it is a gas. Electrons can't 'travel' in empty space with only some molecules.

Answer 6

Because they suck