Question

Has anyone done a lab experiment to measure the temperature dependence of metal conductance at low and high temps? Can you describe the lab set up?

Answer 1

Metal conducts high amounts of current in a cooler state than a warmer state. That is because electrons are allowed to flow more freely through metal when it is in its most firm state. The cooler the metal, the more firm. The warmer the metal, the more entropy the atoms have, causing it to be less firm, and the molecules/atoms to expand, being further apart, thus conducting less current. Get a multimeter, have a test lead on one part of the cold metal, place the ground lead to 'Earth'. Run a small voltage through each piece of metal, one of the metal pieces warm, the other cold. You will find that when measuring current with the multimeter, that the rigid cold metal allows more electron flow, conducting more current and carrying more voltage. The warmer metal does not conduct as well, has higher entropy and less electron flow.