In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is an object or type of material that allows the flow of charge (electric current) in one or more directions. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors.
Electrical conductors enable electrons to travel between atoms at a drift velocity within the conduction band, a specific energy level that supports free electron movement. These conductors consist of atoms with loosely bound valence electrons that an electric or thermal effect can easily excite.
Conductors are the materials that allow current to flow through it. In other words, the materials through which an electric charge can flow is called as conductors. The effectiveness of the conductor is measured with the help of its electrical conductivity, which measures how quickly electrons may travel through the substance.
All materials are generally placed into two categories - those that are conductors and those that are insulators. Conductors are types of materials that allow electrons to flow freely across their surfaces. Insulators do not allow for the free flow of electrons across their surface.
Metals such as Cu, Ag, and Al are excellent conductors due to their high density of free electrons. Because conductors inherently allow charge to move readily, they are used to transmit electrical energy in an efficient manner, used in real-life scenarios such as circuits and power lines.
Simply put, electrical conductors are materials that carry (or conduct) electrical currents well, such as iron and steel, and insulators are materials that do not, like glass and plastic. Whether a substance conducts electricity is determined by how easily electrons move through it.