Why does a salt not conduct electricity in its solid state?

In order to conduct electricity, charged particles must be available and these charged particles must have the possibily to move around freely. Salts consist of ions: charged particles. In the solid state however, the ions are trapped in a lattice by electrostatic forces. This means that the charged particles cannot move around freely and therefore salts do not conduct electrivity in their solid state. 

TD
Answered by Thomas D. Chemistry tutor

31912 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

What product is formed upon addition of dimethylamine to ethanoyl chloride? Provide a curly-arrow mechanism for the formation of this product.


Describe and explain the structure of Benzene


Construct expressions for pH, Kw and Gibbs Free energy


How would you work out the mols of a substance?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning