StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Properties of Electrical Materials - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay discusses properties of electrical materials. An example of a material that possesses such property is pure elemental silver that is believed to be the best solid electrical conductor encountered in everyday life. Others include copper, steel, aluminum, and brass…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.3% of users find it useful
Properties of Electrical Materials
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Properties of Electrical Materials"

Properties of Electrical MaterialsSolid electrical conductors are substances in which electrons move freely from one atom to another with the capacity to transmit electricity. An example of a material that possess such property is pure elemental silver that is believed to be the best solid electrical conductor encountered in everyday life. Others include copper, steel, aluminum, and brass. In electrical and electronic engineering systems, the conductors comprise solid metals molded into wires or etched onto circuit boards.

Due to its excellent conductivity as a result of the presence of more localized electrons, copper is their used to make most of the wires. Aluminum is used for high voltage wires on electric poles because it's light in weight compared to other electric solid conductors (Ishihara, 2009). Liquids containing free ions like mercury are excellent electrical conductors' .however, saturated salt water solutions also act as fair liquid conductors. The gases with a significant number of ions act as neutral conductor through gases tend to be poor conductors of electricity because their atoms are too far apart to allow the free exchange of electrons.

Liquid conductors like salt solutions are applied in electrolysis for example in decomposing water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. Molten salt helps in the manufacture of aluminum by electrolysis. The liquid conductor is necessary for some types of batteries. Gases become electric wire when ionized, and typical examples are lightning bolts and spark from static discharge (Hartwell, 2014).Solid electrical insulators block the flow of electric current across it. They possess a property that withstands thermal expansion mismatch, tension, flexing, compression, abrasion and the hostile chemical environment.

The cracks promote the penetration of moisture hence promoting failure. Solid electrical insulators are used to insulate electric conductors from one another and also to confine electric currents so a given pathway. Such applications are in the insulation wires, electronic components, and switch gears. The insulators help in providing electrical dissipation function. The solid insulators can operate due to their resistivity, dielectric strength, and relative permittivity. Solid ceramic materials assist in supporting high voltage power lines on electricity pylons (Toberer, 2008).

Liquid or gas insulation provides flexible and cheap insulation that is not subject to mechanical failure. An example includes biphenyls that act as the insulating liquid in capacitors. Others are alkyl benzenes and polybutenes that are used in oil filled cables and high-pressure cables respectively. Liquid electric insulators also help in cooling transformers and act as a dielectric in a capacitor. Distilled water acts as an insulator and a coolant at the same time so long as it is kept free of impurities.

However, silicone oil is preferred since it is less likely to cause corrosion and doesn't have to be pure. Other applications include large DC inverters, high power transistors and switching diodes, and compact high current transformers. Gas sulphur hexafluoride is used in electrical switch gear to prevent arcing (Toberer, 2008).Ferrite magnets are no corroding and brittle therefore used in electronic components such as radio antennas. They are of a sintered composite of iron oxide and barium that are of low cost and inexpensive.

Iron in power transformers is used in consumer electronic products to step down the supply voltage to a level needed for the low voltage circuit they contain. The magnetic material, in this case, acts as vital safety component that electrically isolates the end user from direct contact with lethal supply voltage (Narlikar, 2005). ReferencesHartwell, F., McPartland, J., & McPartland, B. (2014). McGraw-Hill's National Electrical Code Handbook. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education LLC.Ishihara, T. (2009). Perovskite oxide for solid oxide fuel cells.

Dordrecht: Springer.Narlikar, A. (2005). Frontiers in magnetic materials. Berlin: Springer.Toberer, E. (2008). Traversing the metal-insulator transition in a zinc phase: Rational Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency in Yb_(14)Mn_(1-x)Al_xSb_(11). New York: Wiley.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Properties of Electrical Materials Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Properties of Electrical Materials Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/technology/1879601-properties-of-electrical-materials
(Properties of Electrical Materials Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Properties of Electrical Materials Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/technology/1879601-properties-of-electrical-materials.
“Properties of Electrical Materials Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/technology/1879601-properties-of-electrical-materials.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Properties of Electrical Materials

Solar Energy Harnessing

Researchers have also used surface characterization techniques to study how electrical, chemical and transparency properties of TCOs depend on the surface layer.... The electronic/defect structure of the surface layers has a huge impact on the electrical properties of the layer... PVs are made out of doped semiconducting materials, which have relatively high resistivity as compared to common good conductors.... Thus, photovoltaic cells are coated with conducting materials on their surface....
6 Pages (1500 words) Dissertation

Evaluation of the Visual Environment

Scientific knowledge of the properties of light and vision, together with the interplay of light on various types of surfaces has enabled many practical applications, such as in architectural lighting to enhance the human living experience.... There is one big light bulb at the center of the white-painted matte ceiling, the floor is of parquet hardwood materials, with a carpet of light brown color but it only covers half of the room floor, underneath the bed itself....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Multi-frequency Impedance System

RBCs are not good conductors of electrical current in a low frequency range as compared with the plasma or extracellular medium which surrounds them.... Thus, the electrical properties of the blood and the haemolyzed blood are basically very different.... "Electrical properties of Blood and its Constituents: Alternating Current Spectroscopy," Blut, 46, pp.... "Measurement of the electrical Resistance of Human Blood; Use in Coagulation Studies and Cell Volume Determinations," Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, vol....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Strength of Materials

With prescription of the elastic properties of the structural members, the topology and the load exerted on the structure, the strain energy of the structure under particular load becomes a function of the nodal co-ordinates of the undeformed structure.... They get information which is used in finding the stresses in those bodies or indicate and measure quantities such as pressure, force, electrical resistance and acceleration.... It is attached to the body and deforms as the body deforms leading to electrical resistance due to the alteration which is measured with the use of a Wheatstone bridge that relates the strain to a quantity termed as gauge factor....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Electric fundemental

As the aircraft climbs to 35000 feet the temperature drops to a range of -40 to -60 degree Celsius and the barometric pressure is almost 179 mm Hg the resistivity value changes of the aluminum wires.... Hence making it a better option to use in temperature varying environment such… (Zainul, pp....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Glasses and Amorphous Materials by J. Zarzycki

The essay “Glasses and Amorphous materials by J.... hellip; The author states that amorphous materials are usually prepared by the rapid cooling process of molten material.... The cooling process reduces the movement of the molecules of the materials before they are arranged in a thermodynamic crystalline state.... Amorphous materials may also be prepared by additives that tend to interfere with the primary constituent....
2 Pages (500 words) Article

The Study of Resistance and Current

Various properties of conductors will be studied.... The distinct properties of resistance and current will be considered in order to identify various types of resistance in conductors of electricity.... The following apparatus and materials required while carrying out the experiment (S.... uring the research, there will be some experiments to prove that the resistance and current are always common in all the electrical conductors....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Manufacturing Concepts - Inductors

This is specified in percentages commonly 10% and 20% and is caused by bias current determined by the magnetic properties of the core (Vishay Intertechnology Inc, 2011).... This paper 'Manufacturing Concepts - Inductors" focuses on the fact that an inductor is a passive electrical component usually a coil of wire which tends to oppose changes in electrical current....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us