MODULE 6 – Engineering Utilities 1

Conductors & Insulators

Introduction

The behavior of an object that has been charged is dependent upon whether the object is
made of a conductive or a nonconductive material. Conductors are materials that permit
electrons to flow freely from particle to particle. These are substances or materials used to
convey or allow the flow of electric current.

In contrast to conductors, insulators are materials that impede the free flow of electrons
from atom to atom and molecule to molecule. These are substances or materials that resist
the flow of electric current.

Conductors vs. Insulators

Valence electrons are like outer planets orbiting a star. They are attracted enough to their atoms to
stay in position but it doesn't always take a lot of energy to knock them out of place—these
electrons easily carry electric currents. Inorganic substances like metals and plasmas that readily
lose and gain electrons top the list of conductors.

Organic molecules are mostly insulators because they're held together by covalent (shared
electron) bonds and because hydrogen bonding helps stabilize many molecules. Most materials
are neither good conductors nor good insulators but somewhere in the middle. These don't readily
conduct but if enough energy is supplied, the electrons will move.

Some materials in pure form are insulators but will conduct if they are doped with small quantities
of another element or if they contain impurities. For example, most ceramics are excellent
insulators but if you dope them, you can create a superconductor. Pure water is an insulator, dirty
water conducts weakly, and saltwater—with its free-floating ions—conducts well.

10 Electrical Conductors

The best electrical conductor, under conditions of ordinary temperature and pressure, is the
metallic element silver. Silver is not always an ideal choice as a material, however, because it is
expensive and susceptible to tarnishing, and the oxide layer known as tarnish is not conductive.

Similarly, rust, verdigris, and other oxide layers reduce conductivity even in the strongest
conductors. The most effective electrical conductors are:

1. Silver 6. Steel
2. Gold 7. Iron
3. Copper 8. Seawater
4. Aluminum 9. Concrete
5. Mercury 10. Mercury
Other strong conductors include:
 ∙ Platinum
∙ Brass
∙ Bronze
∙ Graphite
∙ Dirty water
∙ Lemon juice

10 Electrical Insulators

Electric charges do not flow freely through insulators. This is an ideal quality in many cases—
strong insulators are often used to coat or provide a barrier between conductors to keep electric
currents under control. This can be seen in rubber-coated wires and cables. The most effective
electrical insulators are:

1. Rubber
2. Glass
3. Pure water
4. Oil
5. Air
6. Diamond
7. Dry wood
8. Dry cotton
9. Plastic
10. Asphalt

Other strong insulators include:

∙ Fiberglass
∙ Dry paper
∙ Porcelain
∙ Ceramics
∙ Quartz

What is resistance and conductivity?

Three major categories of materials include conductors, semiconductors and insulators. Insulators
have a high resistance, we can also describe them as having "low electrical conduction".
Conductivity: Most metals are conductive, which means that electrons can freely flow to different
atoms in a given direction. Metals have loosely bound, or free electrons which allow this to
happen. Insulative materials on the other hand have tightly bound valence electrons.

What are Semiconductors?

a solid substance that has a conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most metals,
either due to the addition of an impurity or because of temperature effects. Devices made of
semiconductors, notably silicon, are essential components of most electronic circuits.

What is Di-electric?
Dielectrics are non-conducting substances which are the insulating materials and are bad
conductor of electric current. Dielectric materials can be made to hold an electrostatic charge
while dissipating minimal energy in the form of heat. Examples of dielectric are Mica, Plastics,
Glass, Porcelain and Various Metal Oxides and even dry air is also example of dielectric.

List of Common Insulating Materials

Solids

1.0 Clay (ceramic)(porcelain) - This is the standard material for high voltage and RF insulators.
2.0 Plastics - PVC, Cresyl Pthalate, DEHP and other plastics replaced rubber as an insulator for
wires and other parts. PVC and nylon are now standard in most types of wire. 3.0 Glass (silica,
soda ash and limestone) - This material worked fine for telegraph and other l ow voltage
apparatus. It is still used today to some degree. 4.0 Paper/Cardboard - paper and cardboard are
used as insulators in certain circumstances as these materials are cheap and can work in situations
without high heat or high voltages. 5.0 Mica - This is a good stable material even when exposed to
the elements. It is a good thermal
conductor while being an insulator. Sheet mica is easily stamped and shaped for electrical
components. Mica is very important for the most common types of capacitors. 6.0 Teflon (PTFE) -
(polytetrafluoroethylene) - Slippery, durable and resistant to corrosion this Dupont made material
is used in cable jackets. Other forms besides PTFE include FEP and ETFE.
PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy) - This substance is resistant to chemical attack, transparent and
better than PTFE when it comes to flexibility. The weakness is that the number of times it
 can be folded is less than PTFE. It is good for applications near the ocean as it is resistant
to salt spray. The dielectric strength of PFA is up to 4 times higher than PTFE.
6.0 Rubber - Rubber in its natural and synthetic forms was used as an insulator from before the
1870s until the 1950s. Plastics (especially PVC) replaced rubber. 7.0 Wax and oil - in the 1880s
Edison used trinidad asphaltum with linseed oil, beeswax and paraffin to insulate copper wires
mounted inside of iron pipes. This was used for durable underground power lines.
8.0 Gasses - Normally when you separate two high voltage conductors an arc forms in between
in open air. In the utility industry we use special non-conductive gas in a compact
encapsulated metal container to stop arcs from forming. Gas- insulated switchgear is
designed to disconnect very high voltages safely. There are gas insulated transformers as
well as other devices.
9.0 Liquids
thermal conductor. It conducts heat away from hot transformer coils. Some capacitors also
use insulator oil.

"Insulators" used with high voltage power transmission

Insulators in the context of power transmission describe the support structures for wires and other
devices. While knob and tube house wiring transitioned into flexible insulation, higher voltages
found in HV power transmission remain the same in that there is no other economic way to
insulate HV lines except by suspending the wires(using the surrounding air as the insulator) or
burial.

Insulators in power transmission are designed to: