nanofluid!

[D_A]

I'm an industrial electrician with experience in food processing plants, petro-chemical, power generation, mining/ore processing, instrument installation/service/calibration and defence manufacturing.
The difference in conductivity is used to measure the dissolved mineral content in a water stream. More dissolved minerals means more conductive in a predictable manner. Similarly less dissolved mineral means less conductive down to where pure H2O has zero conductivity. The required voltage (current is NOT a factor as that's the FLOW of electricity. Once current is flowing it's already ionized.) to break water into ions (H+ and O-) and conduct is 80volts per millimetre distance. Air is much higher.
edit: put another way, pure water has a resistivity of 18.2 MegaOhms per centimetre.