Gel Electrophoresis: Gel Poured With Water - (Jul/29/2016 )

Hello,

I'm in the process of training a recent college grad, and they accidentally made the mistake of pouring an agarose gel with water instead of buffer.  As expected, their gel overheated and they lost their DNA.

I started reading online as to why this happens, and couldn't find any scientific explanation.  So, can anyone explain why a gel cast with water, and run in a chamber with 1X TBE, conducts electricity better (I assume this is where the heat is coming from) than a gel cast with buffer?

Thanks!

Other way round - heat is a byproduct of resistance.... less resistance, less heat. The gel heats up because there is limited conductivity, so greater resistance.

Thanks Bob.  Electricity/current never was my forté.