conductivity

/ˈkɑndəkˌtɪvədi/

Other forms: conductivities

A material's conductivity is the extent that it allows an electric current to flow through it. Metal generally has high conductivity.

In physics, the noun conductivity is used for the rate or degree that electricity, heat, or sound travels through something. So materials with high conductivity allow heat to flow quickly and completely through them. These substances are also known as conductors. Both words are rooted in the Latin conducere, "to lead or bring together."

Definitions of conductivity

1. noun

   the transmission of heat or electricity or sound
   synonyms: conduction

   types:

   electrical conduction

   the passage of electricity through a conductor

   photoconduction, photoconductivity

   change in the electrical conductivity of a substance as a result of absorbing electromagnetic radiation

   superconductivity

   the disappearance of electrical resistance at very low temperatures

   arc, discharge, electric arc, electric discharge, spark

   electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field

   type of:

   physical phenomenon

   a natural phenomenon involving the physical properties of matter and energy