Cu or Ag, Heat conductors but electric Insulators?

[paadness]

Its quite impossible to think how one can make copper or silver electrically nuetral while keeping the super heat conductivity.

But after siing Artic Silver claiming thier silver compund does not conduct electricity, i had to think twice.

Is there a way to make copper and silver electric insulators.

Simple phyiscs: Charge is carried by free electrons and so is heat but heat can be tranfered by other electrons in an atom by collisions among them.

Im confused.

 

[cbehnken]

I do believe it would require a different electron configuration and therefore you'd have a new element.

 

[biohazard329]

No.

by definition it would no longer be a metal if it were an electrical insulator.

themral energy is usually transmitted through lattice vibrations too btw, not electrons

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: biohazard329
by definition it would no longer be a metal if it were an electrical insulator.

themral energy is usually transmitted through lattice vibrations too btw, not electrons

Right. I haven't used AS, but I sincerely doubt it is actually silver if they're claiming it's an electric insulator. It's possible that it's a polymer system with small concentrations of dispersed silver, as this would increase thermal conductivity while still prohibiting the free flow of electrons. This would be a pretty complicated system though, so I tend to doubt it.