Talk:Electrical Conductors

Element	Resistivity @ 20°C	Density (~ r.t.)	Availability	Highland	Lowland
Silver	15.87 nΩ·m	10.490  g·cm−3	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Copper	16.78 nΩ·m	8.960 g·cm−3	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Gold	22.14 nΩ·m	19.300  g·cm−3	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Aluminum	26.50 nΩ·m	2.700 g·cm−3	Yes	133,000	69,700
Magnesium	43.90 nΩ·m	1.738 g·cm−3	Yes	45,500	57,600
Sodium	47.70 nΩ·m	0.968 g·cm−3	Yes	3,100	2,900
Potassium	needs ref ~70.00 nΩ·m	0.890 g·cm−3	Yes	800	1,100
Iron	96.10 nΩ·m	7.150 g·cm−3	Yes	48,700	132,000
Chromium	125.00 nΩ·m	7.860 g·cm−3	Yes	850	2,600
Titanium	420.00 nΩ·m	4.506 g·cm−3	Yes	3,100	31,000
Manganese	1440.00 nΩ·m	7.210 g·cm−3	Yes	675	1,700
	Lower # => better	r.t. = room temperature		ppm by weight	ppm by weight

Thinking Moon

The Sodium entry is a good example of thinking Moon. That is, looking at ideas that are insignificant when used on Earth but could really save the day when used on the Moon. It does take a rather long scenario to show how Sodium could be used, but this is part of the process needed to compare complicated technical ideas.

--Jriley 13:25, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

Indeed ISRU is important.

I can't see sodium being much use as a conductor inside a habitat due to it's potential for interaction with condensation. Neither can I see much use for NaK in a hab, though that might have uses outdoors.

I've forked Sodium Scenario to it's own article, partly because it deserves an article and partly because this page is intended primarily as a fact resource for other articles.

-- Mdelaney 19:26, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

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Sodium Abundance

Having looked around I'm only seeing Sodium in the 3k ppm range or listed in compounds that have % occurrences of ~0.5%. Could you cite your sources supporting said abundance of Sodium?

-- Mdelaney 19:27, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

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It appears the table has been corrected. Likely lunar sodium is mostly compounds rather than free metal. Since sodium compounds are soluable in water, it is easily separated from even a high percentage of insoluable material. The water is easily recovered for reuse. Neil

• It seems that part of the edit by user 69.117.44.141 on the 15th of March was not an improvement. Perhaps someone might say that it takes much energy to melt aluminum, but the big energy requirement in using lunar aluminum is smelting. There is no significant reduced aluminum native to Luna. On Earth aluminum occurs as sulfates, silicates, and oxides in various mixed mineral species with other metals. Whatever the ore from which aluminum will be recovered on Luna, it will require considerable energy to reduce the metal. Smelting will be the major concern with Aluminum. Iron on the other hand occurs in reduced form. Using iron requires separating and melting the reduced iron particles. The conduction properties of iron could be significant if it is used as rails and a small amount of current is conducted along the path of the rails. --Farred 23:00, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

The availability of metals on Luna

Recent edits about where iron and silver are found on the moon introduced an important question. However the availability on the moon is best addressed in the main article of each metal considered as a conductor. There is a link to the main article in each case. I have addressed the question somewhat and will see to proper organization later.