Question

So this is my assignment. My question is, what makes an object a good insulator? Does having a high specific heat alone make a good insulator? Water has a very high specific heat, would it make a good insulator for the material?

Please list off a bunch of common household items with why they are good insulators!

Objective: Construct an insulated device that is designed to retain heat. Heated water will be put into a beaker and the beaker will be put into the device and allowed to cool for 45 minutes.

Construction:

The device must fit within a 15.0 cm × 15.0 cm × 15.0 cm cube.

Devices may be constructed of and contain any materials except for the following prohibited materials: any type of foam, bubble wrap, commercial insulation, metal other than aluminum foil.

Within the device, you must be able to insert and remove a 250 mL standard, unaltered, empty Pyrex beaker.

The device must also easily accommodate the insertion of a thermometer probe all the way through to the bottom of the beaker via a hole at least 1.5 cm in diameter.

Devices may not contain any energy sources (e.g., no electrical components, small battery powered heaters, chemical reactions, etc.) to help keep the water warm.

All parts of the device must not be significantly different from room temperature.

Highest temperature after 45 minutes wins!

Answer 1

For the insulator there will be no free electrons to conduct electrcity, because all the free electrons are tightly bound to the nuclues.Some materials are better at insulating than others, like glass, fused quartz and mica. Other examples of insulators include air, water and plastic, although not all of these substances offer protective functions against electricity.

The conducting abilities of water depends on the type of water or the purity of it. Pure water, that does not have any other elements in it is a better insulator of electricity than it is a conductor. The opposite holds true for things like salt water, because of the extra elements in it.

Although water have high specific heat it is a poor conductor of electricty

The common household items with good insulators are Oil,Fur,silk,Rubber,plastic,wood,paper,wax. Because in an insulator is a substance in which electrons cannot move from one atom to another.