non-conductive water, what is?
108125
The problem with using distilled water is the local carbon dioxide in the air.  This CO2 will instanly mix with the water, and moreso over time, creating carbonic acid in the water, lowering its resistance.\n\nYou really need DEIONIZED water and keep it in a closed system made of plastic which will prevent gas transfer or ions from collecting in the water.  Then you dispense the water from a valve or something right at the point of use, to avoid CO2 contamination.  DI filters are commonly used in laser water cooling systems.  They aren't cheap, but you can buy the housing and filter elements.  You should be looking for 1Mohm or greater for your water supply.
162163
WOW, you are really doing an over kill if you just want to electrolisize water.\n\nPure water does not conduct electricity.  Water will only conduct when it has ions dissolved in it, the more ions, the better it will conduct.  Tap water does have a small concentration of ions in it,  not much, but enough to make it conduct when you pass 30 volts through it.\nTo increase the conductivity, as you know, you can add some type of electrolyte to the water (like table salt, NaCl).\n\nLet me take a step back right now.\nIf you were to break apart water into pure Hydrogen and Oxygen gas, this only requires a very small voltage, something around 1.5 volts or there abouts (I can look this number up if it is that important to you).  One you have obtained the minimum voltage, it is the current passing through the water the controls the speed of electrolysis.\nAll the voltage over the minimum is called the "over voltage".\n\nWhen you apply a greater voltage than is necesary to the water, you increase the likely hood of reducing/oxidizing things other than water.  Without going into too much detail about the chemistry of it all, you are producing Hydrogen gas at your cathode (-), but at the anode (+), you are probably not producing pure Oxygen, more likely it is Chlorine gas since the Cl- ion is easier to oxidize than the Oxygen in the water.  When you add NaCl to the water, you are only making it easier for it to produce Cl2 gas since it concentration increases.\nThe choice of electrolyte is important as it determines exactly what gasses you will be producing.  In this case, the Cl- ion from the salt is keeping you from making Oxygen gas.  Cl2 gas is very corrosive (not to mention deadly).\n\nThe type of electrode is also very important as some metals will corrode very easily during electrolysis while others are relaitively inert.  Carbon (graphite) and inert metals like platinum, gold and silver (<-- $$$) and popular choices for the anode which is prone to corrosion.  However, for the cathode, you have much greater latitude since the electrode is said to be protected by virture of its charge.\nPersonally, I use carbon-graphite electrodes because of their relative inexpensiveness, however, they do tend to errode over time and need replacing.  When the graphite electodes erode, they leave a fine black powder in suspention in the water which can be filtered out.\n\nLong story short, that slime is most likely the remnants of your electodes corroding away.  Have you noticed you anode betting corroded?\n\nWhat I would do if I were you,\n-switch to graphite electrodes\n-reduce the input voltage in the cell to less than 10 volts (ideally less than 5)\n-use a NaOH electrolye in DI water
705184
No.  The electric heating element is insulated and does not conduct power into the water and surrounding metal containers.
1028768
Simply put, it's not a conductor. \n\nhttp://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCEsoft/CCA/CCA1/MVHTM/R0540/S567.HTM
111121
water's chemical description is H2O, one atom of oxygen bound to two atoms of hydrogen. \n\n1). Pure water has a neutral pH of 7, which is neither acidic nor basic.\n\n2). Water is called the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid.\n\n3). Water is unique in that it is the only natural substance that is found in all three states -- liquid, solid (ice), and gas (steam) -- at the temperatures normally found on Earth.\n\nTypes of water\nI). Hard & soft water\nSoft water - Any water that does not contain a significant amount of dissolved minerals such as salts of calcium or magnesium.\nHard Water - water containing a high level of calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. Hard water reduces the cleansing power of soap and produces scale in hot water lines and appliances.\n\nII). Ground water & Surface water\nGround water - In hydrologic terms, water within the earth that supplies wells and springs; water in the zone of saturation where all openings in rocks and soil are filled, the upper surface of which forms the water table. Also termed Phreatic water.\n\nSurface water - Precipitation which does not soak into the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation or transpiration, and is stored in streams, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs is surface water.
924596
The KCl, definitely.  Conductivity in water is greatly enhanced by the presence of ions.  Deionized water actually has fewer ions in it than ordivnary tap water, so it's a really terrible conductor.  KCl, on the other hand, dissolves into K+ and Cl- in water, so there are a whole lot of ions in a solution of KCl.
1108709
Safe to drink... or safe to be around in the presence of an electrical current?\n\nWell zero conductivity would be ideal, because it would be evidence of zero ion presence in the water.\n\nHowever the water could be very conductive and still be "safe" to consume. Salt (Na-Cl) for instance mixed into the water would make turn the water into an ionic solution. It is therefore now has conductivity. But as we all know... we can consume salt water "safely" if it is consumed at appropriate amounts.
788372
No.  Nor is Air, Water, Heat, Cold or Burgers!
93749
Water is not a good conductor of electric current it conducts electric current because of the impurities present in it.\n\nWhy?\n\nWith this simple experiment you can verify that the distilled water presents a very low conductivity because the potential of the first circuit is much less than the developed by the battery. The small potential of this circuit is due to the presence of the H+ and OH- ions produced when some molecules of water are dissociated. However, the number of molecules of water that are dissociated is practically negligible, making the distilled water a weak electrons conductor. It is worth noting, that as the distance among electrodes increases, the resistance to the electrons transfer in the distilled water increases considerably. This fact evidences even more the low conductivity of the distilled water.\n\nWhen salt is added (NaCl) to the system, the conductivity of the system increases considerably. The water not only dissolves the salt, as well as it dissociates the salt molecule. The elementary sodium (Na) presents an excess electron and the chloride (Cl) has a strong affinity for electrons. Consequently, after dissociation, the sodium loses an electron to the chloride, forming Cl- and Na+ ions. The presence of these ions increases the conductivity of the water considerably. The positive ions (Na+) migrate to the negative electrode (linked to the pole - of the battery) and the negatives (Cl-) migrate to the positive electrodes (linked to the pole + of the pile). The conductivity of the aqueous solution water/salt is proportional to the ions concentration in the solution.\nWhen you try to measure the conductivity of tap water you can verify that it has higher conductivity in comparison with distilled water because this contains ions (less pure). The tap water has higher conductivity due to the presence of the ions: Ca2+ and Mg2+. And don´t forget, try the science at home!
291253
Because water increases your body's electrical conductivity.
606748
radiation\n\nbecause the above answer is correct...radiation is through AIR, not liquid\n\nconduction:  cold water cools you down, right?  conversely you heat the water\n\nconvection:  is specifically transfer of heat THRU LIQUID...so that works\n\ncondensation:  directly related to water vapor which is liquid, again
493715
Water will weakly (very weakly) conduct an electric current because it self-ionizes or ionizes (breaks apart) into Hydronium (H3O+) and hydroxide ions (OH-).  This isn't enough to show any conductivity with the traditional "light bulb conductivity tester."\n\nBy "water" I mean completely pure water.  Once you start dealing with water in oceans, ponds, bathtubs, etc. you've added solutes to the water.  If those solutes are able to break apart into ions (ionic and limited covalent compounds) then the water will conduct an electric current.\n\nThe question about table salt has already been answered, but if you're asking how that's different from "salt" as a chemist would use the term....  A salt is a compound made from the anion of an acid and the cation of a base... this covers most if not all ionic compounds...
928923
No, because there are no ions in there.  Add some metals, or salt, or acid/base, and then it will.  In tap water, there are those, so tap water does conduct electricity.
798952
see the diagrams in the source\n\nBig Idea\nWater is comprised of two elements - hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Distilled water is pure and free of salts; thus it is a very poor conductor of electricity. By adding ordinary table salt (NaCl) to distilled water, it comes an electrolyte solution, able to conduct electricity.\n\nKey Concepts\n\n    * Ionic compounds such as salt water, conduct electricity when they dissolve in water.\n    * Ionic compounds consist of two or more ions that are held together by electrical attraction. One of the ions has a positive charge (called a cation) and the other has a negative charge (anion).\n    * Molecular compounds, such as water, are made of individual molecules that are bound together by shared electrons (i.e. covalent bonds).\n\nEssential Questions\n\n    * What happens to salt when it is dissolved in water?\n    * What are electrolytes?\n    * How can we determine the volume of dissolved ions in a water sample?\n    * How are atoms held together in an element?\n\nKnowledge and Skills\n\n    * Conduct an experiment to see that water can be split into its constituent ions through the process of electrolysis.\n    * Prepare and experiment with a 10% salt solution to better understand the process of ion exchange.\n    * Discuss and research the "softness" and "hardness" of water.\n    * Use the periodic table to identify elements and learn their characteristics.\n\nPrior Knowledge\n\n    * Define the difference between ionic and molecular compounds.\n    * Salt consists of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl).\n    * Water is a tiny, V-shaped molecult with the molecular formula H2O.\n    * A basic understanding of how a battery works.\n    * Atoms are made of a positive nucleus surrounded by negative electrons.\n    * An atom's electron configuration, particularly the outermost electrons, determines how the atom can interact with other atoms.\n    * All matter is made up of atoms.\n    * Atoms of any element are alike, but different from atoms of other elements.\n\nCommon Preconceptions\n\n    * Students may think - "Water is a good conductor of electricity." Water is a very poor "conductor" of electricity. (The ionization constant for water is very small.) The reason it is dangerous to insert a light bulb while standing in a puddle of water is that water is a great solvent for ionic compounds. Tap water and fresh water typically contain dissolved ions in sufficient concentrations to enable the solution to be conductive. However, ions in solution carry the charge and are therefore responsible for the current, not the water itself.\n    * Students may think - "Electrons can flow through solutions." In "conduction of electricity" through solutions, electrons themselves do not pass through the solutions. Rather, the charge balance is maintained in the solution by movement of cations and anions toward the electrodes where charge transfer takes place at the solution interface.\n      Water is comprised of two elements - hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Distilled water is pure and free of salts; thus it is a very poor conductor of electricity. By adding ordinary table salt (NaCl) to distilled water, it comes an electrolyte solution, able to conduct electricity.\n\nConcept Map\nThis lesson and activity relates to the branch "Phases of Water" from the comprehensive Aquarius Concept Map - Water & its patterns on Earth's surface.\n\nBackground\nIn chemistry, electrolysis is a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them. An ionic compound, in this case salt, is dissolved with an appropriate solvent, such as water, so that its ions are available in the liquid. An electrical current is applied between a pair of inert electrodes immersed in the liquid. The negatively charged electrode is called the cathode, and th positively charged one the anode. Each electrode attracts ions which are of
157642
Firstly, the purer the water, the worse it is to use as a conductor. Mainly, the dissolved conductive elements we find in tapwater increase its conductivity, but are not as effective as say the ones found in saltwater. So, unless you wanted to spend the time and money to dissolve the copper, zinc, lead, and other conductive materials in water that could more easily be ducted into wire, it won't be a good idea.
884983
Salt (or more specifically, Sodium Chloride salt) is a strong electrolyte, meaning that when dissolved in water it will completely break up into ions (Na+ and Cl- ions).\n\nPure water, by itself, does not conduct electricity, but when you dissolve an electrolyte in it, an electric current can pass through the solution.\n\nIn order for a electric current to flow there must be charge carriers which can move.  Pure water does not have these charge carriers, but after a salt is dissolved and ions are present in solution, the solution becomes conductive.
569824
In reality, normal water is a very weak conductor. It is possible to be electricuted while in the water, as in the bathtub example, but in the open waters, only things in very close proximity to the lightning strike will be affected. In actuality, pure water doesn't conduct electricity at all, but when things are dissolved in the water it can carry a current. This also explains why being shocked in your bathtub is more prominent- there are soaps and oils dissolved in the water.