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Short Answer:

Conductivity in salt water and tap water is the result of movement of charges (positive and negative) which are ions in the liquid. This is different than electrons moving in wires. Salt water has more ions than tap water, so more charge carriers and more conductivity.

Longer Answer:

The electrical conductivity of water, whether in its pure form or with dissolved ions like salt, is explained as the movement of charged ions and not in terms of transport of nearly-free

electrons as would be the case for a metal wire. With the application of a voltage, the electric field created in the liquid exerts a force on the ions, opposite directions for positives and negatives, and since this is a liquid, the ions move with relative ease. (Far less ease than electrons in a metal but far more than atoms in a solid.) Movement of these charges is the electrical current one measures. A lot of charges will result in a lot of current or a higher conductivity.

In pure water, the ions that are moving are the solvated protons in the form of H3O+ and hydroxide ions, OH

-. In other ionic solutions it is the dissolved ions themselves, for instance in salt water, sodium chloride dissociated into the ions Na+

and Cl-. In tap water, there are also other metals like calcium, magnesium and iron and anions like sulfates, bicarbonates and more, depending on the water source. All these cations and anions participate in the ionic motion and hence conductivity of the water.

Salt water has more conductivity that tap water because the number of charged ions is usually vastly larger in salt water.

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