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Salt water is a pretty good conductor of electricity. Its not as good as a metal but still is far from being an insulator. Pure water does not conduct electricity well at all.

The reason salt water conducts electricity is because the NaCl (sodium chloride, aka table salt) breaks apart into a positively charged Na+ and a negatively charged Chlorine Cl-. When voltage is applied, the charged ions feel the force of the electric field created and they move. Instead of electrons then, the current is the moving ions. The more salt you put into the water, the better it conducts electricity. (Pure water is actually and poor conductor because the only ions it has are the residual H+ and OH- that form in neutral water and are the reason we say water has a pH of 7.)

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Why would seawater be a better conductor of electricity than river water?

Water is actually a weak insulator and does not transmit current well unless it has ions in it, like saltwater does. Seaweeds are limited in their abilities to conduct electricity per se, but as they come from saltwater, the salts still present on their "leaves" conduct relatively well.


What makes a fruit or vegetable conduct electricity?

The water inside the fruit or the vegetable, makes it conduct electricity.


Is juice an a conductor?

Yes, all impure solutions of water containing salts are conductive to some degree, in addition many juices are acidic, and many acidic water solutions are conductive.


Can pepper conduct electricity?

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Why water does not conduct electricity but can be use as an Electrolyte in electrolysis to form hydrogen and oxygen gas?

Water H2O contains the 2 elements hydrogen and oxygen. These two elements cannot conduct electricity althought they are in their pure state. Consider Sodium Chloride in the aqueous or molten state. This compound can conduct electricity in the aqueous state because in contains Sodium which is a metal and a good conductor of electricity.Whereas water being already aqueous it cannot conduct electricity due to the absence of metal in its compound, therefore it cannot be an electrolyte.Note: It is said that water is a conductor of electricity. The main reason is that the water we drink or use for domestic purposes have minerals(metallic solids) present. But i think that these minerals are neglagible in the case of electrolysis.