Electrical Transport

Conductance G is the inverse of resistance R. It shows how easily electricity flows through a solution, depending on the geometry of the measurement cell.

To remove the effect of cell geometry, conductance is multiplied by the cell constant K_cell, defined as the distance between electrodes divided by their cross-sectional area. This gives the specific conductance, κ, which represents the conductance of a one-meter cube of the solution.

Equivalent conductance Λ relates conductance to the amount of electrolyte. It represents the conductance of ions produced by one gram equivalent of an electrolyte and equals κ multiplied by the volume containing one gram equivalent.

Meanwhile, molar conductance Λ_m describes the conductance due to ions from one mole of electrolyte and is obtained by dividing κ by the molar concentration of the added electrolyte.

As an electrolyte's dilution increases, its Λ_m increases due to greater electrolyte dissociation, while κ decreases since the total number of ions per unit volume drops.

As the concentration approaches zero, the Λ_m of strong electrolytes reaches a limiting value, called the molar conductance at infinite dilution, Λ°_m.