---
title: "Does leather conduct electricity?"
description: "leather: does not conduct. What that means in practice, and how it compares with every other common material."
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/leather/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does leather conduct electricity?

**Does leather conduct electricity?: Does not conduct**

leather

Insulating when dry.

## How it compares

*Percentage of the International Annealed Copper Standard. Silver is the only element above 100.*

| Material | Conducts? | % of copper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| silver | Conducts electricity | 105% |
| copper | Conducts electricity | 100% |
| gold | Conducts electricity | 70% |
| aluminum | Conducts electricity | 61% |
| aluminum 6061 | Conducts electricity | 43% |
| magnesium | Conducts electricity | 39% |
| aluminum 7075 | Conducts electricity | 33% |
| tungsten | Conducts electricity | 31% |
| brass | Conducts electricity | 28% |
| zinc | Conducts electricity | 27% |
| nickel | Conducts electricity | 24% |
| iron | Conducts electricity | 17% |
| platinum | Conducts electricity | 16% |
| tin | Conducts electricity | 15% |
| bronze | Conducts electricity | 15% |
| chromium | Conducts electricity | 13% |
| wrought iron | Conducts electricity | 12% |
| tin-lead solder (60/40) | Conducts electricity | 12% |
| lead-free solder (SAC305) | Conducts electricity | 11% |
| mild steel | Conducts electricity | 10% |
| pewter | Conducts electricity | 10% |
| high-carbon steel | Conducts electricity | 9% |
| lead | Conducts electricity | 8% |
| tool steel | Conducts electricity | 7% |
| tungsten carbide | Conducts electricity | 5% |
| gray cast iron | Conducts electricity | 4% |
| ductile iron | Conducts electricity | 4% |
| Monel 400 | Conducts electricity | 3.5% |
| titanium | Conducts electricity | 3% |
| stainless steel 304 | Conducts electricity | 2.5% |
| stainless steel 316 | Conducts electricity | 2.3% |
| mercury | Conducts electricity | 2% |
| Inconel 718 | Conducts electricity | 1.4% |
| Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy | Conducts electricity | 1% |
| unidirectional carbon fibre composite | Conducts electricity | 1% |
| graphite | Conducts electricity | 0.1% |

## The ones that surprise people

- Diamond is an electrical insulator and simultaneously the best thermal conductor known — about five times better than copper at moving heat. Structure decides both, not composition.
- Graphite is the same element as diamond and conducts electricity well, because its layered structure leaves one electron per atom free to move.
- Carbon fibre conducts. People treat composites as plastic, and lightning strike protection on composite aircraft is a serious design problem because of it.
- Pure water is an insulator. Tap water conducts because of dissolved ions — the hazard is what is in the water, not the water.
- Air is an excellent insulator until roughly 3 kV per millimetre, at which point it ionises and conducts. That is what a spark is.

## Common questions

### Does leather conduct electricity?

Does not conduct. Insulating when dry.

## Related pages

- [leather](https://atoneplace.net/material/leather/)
- [Is leather magnetic?](https://atoneplace.net/is-it-magnetic/leather/)
- [Does leather rust?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-rust/leather/)
- [Does water conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/water/)
- [Does concrete conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/concrete/)
- [Does air conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/air/)
- [Does ice conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/ice/)
- [Does pine conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/pine/)
- [Does diamond conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/diamond/)
- [Does granite conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/granite/)
- [Does soda-lime glass conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/soda-lime-glass/)

## Sources

- Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SP 811) — NIST (https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811) [Public domain (US Government)]