Why do metals conduct electricity and non metals don ?
Metals have de-localized electrons – electron clouds that do not “belong” to any one atom. Whan you try to feed electrons in one end of a metal rod, if the rod has a place on the other end where electrons can go then it is more happy to let electrons pour in one side of the rod and out the other. The more loosely the cloud is held, the less the resistance and the better the conductor. In contrast, no-conductors have electrons in fixed orbitals. In order to shove electrons from one side of the rod to the other you need them to shove fixed electrons out of their places – a task that requires a large amount of energy, and therefore a large resistance.
