If silver is the best conductor of electricity, why is gold used in electronics instead?
In: Engineering
Silver and copper are both better conductors than gold. (With conductivities of 6.30×10^7 S/m, 5.96×10^7 S/m, and 4.10×10^7 S/m respectively.)
However, both silver and copper tarnish when exposed to air, whereas gold does not. That tarnish is oxidized metal, which has far worse conductivity than the pure metal it came from. In the case of pure silver the conductivity is 6.30×10^7 S/m whereas silver oxide has a conductivity of ~1×10^3 S/m; in the case of pure copper the conductivity is 5.96×10^7 S/m whereas copper oxide has a conductivity of ~1×10^1 S/m.
So, the reason that gold plated pins and connectors are used in high-end electronics hardware is because, though they might be worse than brand-new copper or silver connections, they will maintain their performance later on when the silver or copper connectors age and tarnish.
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