Misconception #2: Water is a Good Conductor of Electricity

Prepare to be shocked! Not by electricity, yet by the fact that what we have always learned about water, being a good conductor of electricity, is completely wrong.

In fact, water is a great insulator.

So wait a second, are you saying I should just plunge myself into water and throw in my it out, and i'll survive? Where all those water-cuted (if that word exists) in movies a crazy un-realistic scenario? What about our friend John Doe who died due to water-cuted (that word again)

Now hold your horses! Kids, and adults alike, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

While water in itself is a bad conductor, yet the minerals/salts found in water are the actual conductor of electricity.
So pure/distilled water is insulator material, that turns into a good conductor due to its content, and the ionization of its content, which then becomes a good ground for the transfer of electrical charges and electricity.
You can refer to "Schlumberger Log Interpretation" to correlate the resistance to the level and amount of minerals found in image below. You can notice how the relation is inversely proportionate.

So while water in itself, at the purest form is a bad conductor, water all around us, which is not found in its pure form, is a good conductor of electricity. So stay alert!

Hope this article helped you learn something new today. And if you missed my first article in the misconception series, you can check it out here:
https://steemit.com/suesascience/@mcfarhat/humans-have-way-more-than-5-senses

Disclaimer: Again, we are in no way advising to attempt using any electrical appliances in a wet environment. So don't try this at home, without professional supervision and complete knowledge of what you are doing and the associated risks.

References:

• http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae61.cfm
• https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/334271/if-water-is-not-a-good-conductor-why-are-we-advised-to-avoid-water-near-electri
• https://www.quora.com/What-makes-water-a-good-conductor-of-electricity

Photo Credit:
Image One: PIRO4D - Pixabay
Image Two: Schlumberger Chart 9