Why distilled water doesnt conduct electricity

Distilled water only contains a stable molecule of water H2O and has no other free electrons to flow across the water. Therefore, Distilled water makes it as an insulator. Yes, tap water is not pure water. It contains minerals and other dissolved salts that can ionize into the tap water. These ions help in the flow of electric current to flow through it. Higher the number of ions present in the water, the higher will be the conductivity.

Therefore, distilled water is an insulator because there are no ions present in it to conduct the electricity. And also to filter tap water, chlorine compounds are also added in the water. This process of adding chlorine in the tap water is also known as chlorination. Due to the chlorination of tap water, there are sufficient Cl- ions chloride ions that act as free ions to conduct the electricity.

Basically, chlorination of tap water is done to prevent health problems such as typhoid, cholera, etc by filtering tap water.

And, these free ions will conduct electric current with their movement on applying a voltage across the rainwater. The conductivity of rainwater is directly proportional to the amount of dissolved salt into it. The more the salts present in the rainwater, the more will the free ions to conduct the electricity in it.

In some areas around the world, the death news of humans is heard due to electric current seeps into the water bodies. Therefore, it is generally advised to avoid touching electrical appliances during the rainy season.

As the electric sockets or wires can be wet and can give you a sudden electric shock. Cattles should not be tied to electric poles in the case of rain. It can be life-threating for animals. As we know distilled water is a pure form of water. On the addition of impurities such as salts such as NaCl and any other salt compound in it, distilled water is turned into a salt solution. The salt present in the distilled water contains free ions that can move inside the liquid.

If we put that water inside a container and apply a voltage across it, the electric current will flow through it. So, with the addition of impurities to the distilled water, we can make the distilled water conduct electricity. More the amount of salt present in the distilled water, the greater will be the conductivity of it. In this article, I tried to cover the topic of poor conductance of distilled water with the logical reason behind them. November 9, November 9, November 8, November 7, Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content Many of us are aware of the fact that water conducts electricity. As we pass an electric current through it, the water dissociates into hydrogen and chlorine gas. Why distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity?

But in our real lives, we normally do not come across any pure water. If you read our article about water being the " universal solvent " you know that water can dissolve more things than just about any other liquid. Water is a most excellent solvent. It doesn't matter if the water comes out of your kitchen faucet, is in a swimming pool or dog dish, comes out of the ground or falls from the sky, the water will contain significant amounts of dissolved substances, minerals, and chemicals.

These things are the solutes dissolved in water. Don't worry, though—if you swallow a snowflake, it won't hurt you; it may even contain some nice minerals your body needs to stay healthy.

Water stops being an excellent insulator once it starts dissolving substances around it. Salts , such as common table salt sodium chloride NaCl is the one we know best. In chemical terms, salts are ionic compounds composed of cations positively charged ions and anions negatively charged ions. In solution, these ions essentially cancel each other out so that the solution is electrically neutral without a net charge.

Even a small amount of ions in a water solution makes it able to conduct electricity so definitely don't add salt to your "lightning-storm" bathwater.

When water contains these ions it will conduct electricity, such as from a lightning bolt or a wire from the wall socket, as the electricity from the source will seek out oppositely-charged ions in the water. Too bad if there is a human body in the way. Interestingly, if the water contains very large amounts of solutes and ions, then the water becomes such an efficient conductor of electricity that an electrical current may essentially ignore a human body in the water and stick to the better pathway to conduct itself—the masses of ions in the water.

That is why the danger of electrocution in sea water is less than it would be in bathwater. Lucky for hydrologists here at the USGS, water flowing in streams contains extensive amounts of dissolved salts. Otherwise, these two USGS hydrologists might be out of a job. Many water studies include investigating the fish that live in streams, and one way to collect fish for scientific study is to shoot an electrical current through the water to shock the fish "zap 'em and bag 'em".

Want to know more about conductivity and water? Follow me to the Chloride, Salinity, and Dissolved Solids website! Looking at water, you might think that it's the most simple thing around. Pure water is practically colorless, odorless, and tasteless. But it's not at all simple and plain and it is vital for all life on Earth. Where there is water there is life, and where water is scarce, life has to struggle or just "throw in the towel. We need to take the statement "Water is the universal solvent" with a grain of salt pun intended.

Of course it cannot dissolve everything, but it does dissolve more substances than any other liquid, so the term fits pretty well. Water's solvent properties affect all life on Earth, so water is universally important to all of us. Skip to main content. Search Search. Water Science School.

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