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

33727 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Determine Ka of a monohydric acid if the pH=2 and the initial concentration is 0.445 mol/L!


Why do first ionisation energies decrease down a group?


Explain why fluorine is reactive


What evidences are used to prove that Benzene's kekule model is incorrect and that Benzene has a delocalised Pi structure.


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:

© 2026 by IXL Learning