We have always heard of this word “Insulation” since we started our work in this field. This “Insulation” plays a very important role in our electrical world. It is therefore, I felt it worthy to understand the term “Insulation” in this post.
Definition of Insulation :
It is the property of a material by virtue of which it doesn’t allow the flow of current electrically.
In another words, we can also define it as :
An Insulation is that property of a material which does not permit the electrical charge to pass liberally and in turn restrains the passage of electric current through it.
All the resources, which have this characteristic are termed as Insulator.
Every electrical material, equipment, circuit (any thing you know) needs insulation (of any form) for its effective use and optimal performance. You can understand the importance of insulation by this thing only that electricity is incomplete and useless without it.
If we talk about electric cables, they always have an insulation layer above it to protect the users from an electric shock. The cable’s inner core of wire is a good conductor of electricity and the cable is said to be ideal if there is no voltage drop through it. Yet, there always exist a minimal voltage drop in the cable which depends on the below mentioned factors :
- Due to internal resistance of the cable
- Quality of the cable
- Material of the cable
- Cable’s maximum load limit
- Atmospheric condition
- Temperature of the cable
There is an enormous list of insulators which are used and its not possible to cover it all. Yet a few of them which are utilized in our daily used equipment for providing Insulation are :
- Mica :- It is fire proof and doesn’t absorbs the moisture. It is Mostly used in electric iron instrument.
- Porcelain :It is used in insulating support for overhead lines and making a spark plug.
Empire Cloth : It is used as a wrapper in armature coil.
Bakelite: It is used in lamp holders.
Leather :It is prepared from cotton rays and is chemically prepared. The advantage of this is that it is impervious to Grease / oil. It is used in transformer.
Rubber : It is used in cable and electrical tools insulation, insulation mats etc.
There are still many more insulating materials which need to be introduced. We will cover this in another post.
