Question

The resistivity of a typical insulator lies in the range:

Options

• \[\sim 10^{10}\text{--}10^{16}\ \Omega\text{m}\]

• \[\sim 10^{-12}\ \Omega\text{m}\]

• \[\sim 10^{-8}\ \Omega\text{m}\]

• \[\sim 10^{-5}\text{--}10^{6}\ \Omega\text{m}\]

Answer 1

Insulators have negligible free electrons and hence very high resistivity, of the order of \[10^{10}\text{--}10^{16}\ \Omega\text{m}\]. This is vastly higher than the \[10^{-8}\ \Omega\text{m}\] typical of conductors.