Electrical conductivity of water compressed dynamically to pressures of 70–180 GPa (0.7–1.8 Mbar)

The electrical conductivity of water was measured at high pressures (70 to 180 GPa) and temperatures (4000 to 11 000 K) using a reverberating shock wave technique. The measured electrical conductivity of water varies from 39 to 200 Ω−1 cm−1 between 70 and 180 GPa. The relatively weak pressure dependence of the electrical conductivity is consistent with water being fully ionized chemically and the primary conduction mechanism is highly mobile protons. The results are in contrast to hydrogen, in which electrons are the dominant charge carriers.