Electric Conductor

A perfect conductor is a material through which charges can move with no resistance, while in a perfect insulator it is impossible for charges to move at all. However, all conducting materials have some resistance to the electrical energy, with several major effects. One is the loss of electrical energy that converts to heat; the other is that the heating of the conductors causes them to age. In addition, the energy loss within the conductors causes a reduction in the voltage at the load. The voltage drop needs to be taken into consideration in the design and operation of the circuit, since most utility devices are operating within a narrow range of voltage, and lower than desired voltage may not be sufficient for their operation.