A material can be broken down into one of three categories, a conductor, a semiconductor, or a non conductor(insulator).
Metals are conductors, which is why we often mistake conductors as having the characteristics of the good conductors(silver, copper, gold, etc.). We sometimes forget that things like W(tungsten), used in light bulb filaments are not good conductors.
Semiconductors have two natures; sometimes they are non conductors, and sometimes they are conductors. While this seems hard to understand, consider a material such as tin oxide, which is an insulator. Pure and simple, it will not conduct electricity. But, dope it(add a VERRRRRY minute amount of) with things like platinum or palladium and it WILL become a conductor when placed in the presence of a reducing gas. In English, this is how carbon monoxide sensors and breathalyzers work. In the presence of CO or alcohol, the conductivity of the doped SnO2(tin oxide) skyrockets, and this sets off the alarm.
Resistors ARE conductors. Let's get that out of the way from the start. And, conductors ARE resistors. The best conductor, silver, can be used as a resistor, but you would need a very long length of it to do the same job of resisting the electrical flow as a very short length of a more traditional resistor, such as carbon, palladium - silver, or ruthenium.
So, after this way too long babble I have put forth, carbon is, FOR SURE, a conductor. It's not as good a conductor as silver or copper, but it is still a conductor. Whether I would use it as a power cord or not, is irrelevant to this argument.
Metals are conductors, which is why we often mistake conductors as having the characteristics of the good conductors(silver, copper, gold, etc.). We sometimes forget that things like W(tungsten), used in light bulb filaments are not good conductors.
Semiconductors have two natures; sometimes they are non conductors, and sometimes they are conductors. While this seems hard to understand, consider a material such as tin oxide, which is an insulator. Pure and simple, it will not conduct electricity. But, dope it(add a VERRRRRY minute amount of) with things like platinum or palladium and it WILL become a conductor when placed in the presence of a reducing gas. In English, this is how carbon monoxide sensors and breathalyzers work. In the presence of CO or alcohol, the conductivity of the doped SnO2(tin oxide) skyrockets, and this sets off the alarm.
Resistors ARE conductors. Let's get that out of the way from the start. And, conductors ARE resistors. The best conductor, silver, can be used as a resistor, but you would need a very long length of it to do the same job of resisting the electrical flow as a very short length of a more traditional resistor, such as carbon, palladium - silver, or ruthenium.
So, after this way too long babble I have put forth, carbon is, FOR SURE, a conductor. It's not as good a conductor as silver or copper, but it is still a conductor. Whether I would use it as a power cord or not, is irrelevant to this argument.