Which non metals conduct electricity

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Previous Article How many days did the Pilgrims celebrate Thanksgiving? Next Article Why is the story of King Arthur so popular? Let's look at two examples of nonmetals, fluorine and neon.

Simple atomic models of these two elements are shown in the figure below. Although neon has just one more electron than fluorine in its outer energy level, that one electron makes a huge difference. Fluorine needs one more electron to fill its outer energy level in order to have the most stable arrangement of electrons. Therefore, fluorine readily accepts an electron from any element that is equally "eager" to give one up, such as the metal lithium or sodium.

As a result, fluorine is highly reactive. In fact, reactions with fluorine are often explosive. Neon, on the other hand, already has a full outer energy level.

It is already very stable and never reacts with other elements. It neither accepts nor gives up electrons. Neon doesn't even react with fluorine, which reacts with all other elements except helium. Like most other nonmetals, fluorine cannot conduct electricity, and its electrons explain this as well. An electric current is a flow of electrons. This is related to the increase in the number of electrons in the outer shell of their atoms. The atoms become more likely to gain or share electrons, rather than lose them when they form compounds.

Metals tend to have similar properties. They are always good conductors of electricity, and they usually share these properties:. There are some exceptions though. For example, mercury is a liquid at room temperature. The metals in Group 1, such as lithium, sodium and potassium, are all soft.