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What is a good insulator plastic?

Certain types of plastics, like Mylar® & Melinex® polyester films, are excellent insulators, which means they can effectively trap heat. Plastics offer a variety of properties that allow them to be used across many different industries, as well as the insulation of electrical wires.

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Is Mylar a Good Insulator?

People often wonder if plastic can be used as insulation, and the answer is yes! Certain types of plastics, like Mylar® & Melinex® polyester films, are excellent insulators, which means they can effectively trap heat. Plastics offer a variety of properties that allow them to be used across many different industries, as well as the insulation of electrical wires.

Why Is Polyester Plastic Used to Insulate Electrical Wire?

Mylar® & Melinex® Polyester films are commonly used to insulate electrical wire because of their unique set of characteristics, including: High Dielectric Strength: Dielectric strength refers to the electrical strength of an insulating material, in this case, polyester films. The thicker the film, the more dielectric strength it has because it can withstand electrical currents at a greater level. Impressive Thermal Endurance: Polyester film maintains longevity when used to insulate electrical wire because it is tear-resistant, has high mechanical-strength, and is flexible. Superior Electrical Barrier: Polyester is an excellent electrical barrier and is often used in the wiring of appliances, digital printers, and other equipment that utilizes a motor. The polyester insulation helps prevent the electricity from arcing or shorting out when the motor puts a large draw on the system. In addition to these characteristics, polyester is also known to maintain chemical stability, is solvent resistant, and remains intact in varying temperatures. Now, if you’re curious about which plastics are used for wire insulation, that list is just as impressive.

What Plastic Is Used for Wire Insulation?

The most common and dependable polyester films used for wire insulation are Melinex® and Melinex® from DuPont Teijin Films and Teonex® from Toyobo Film Solutions Limited™. These films are versatile and consistently deliver when used for different insulating purposes. Tekra is proud to partner with DuPont Teijin Films and Toyobo Film Solutions Limited™ to convert and distribute Mylar®, Melinex®, and Teonex® in varying thicknesses, visual appearances, and treated surfaces to ensure your polyester film is exactly what you need to properly insulate your electrical wires. For any questions regarding plastics being used to insulate electrical wire or for help selecting the right polyester film for your specific application, please contact us online or call (800) 448-3572.

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Why is plastic a bad conductor of electricity?

Being organic in nature, plastic has no ionic character and hence, conduction of electricity is not possible. So, we can state that they are insulators.

Hint: In the above question, we have been asked if plastic is a good conductor of electricity. Plastic are organic compounds and for the conduction of electricity, ionic characteristics are required.

Complete answer:

Let us first have a look at the structure of plastic.

Most plastics contain organic polymers. They are formed by carbon atoms or carbon atoms with addition of oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. The chains comprise many repeated units which are formed from monomers. Each polymer chain will have several thousand repeating units. The backbone is the part of the chain that is on the main part which links together a large number of repeated units. From the above discussion, we can say that plastics are high molecular weight organic substances that have usually been synthesised from low molecular compounds. Being organic in nature, plastic has no ionic character and hence, conduction of electricity is not possible. So, we can state that they are insulators. So, the statement given, i.e., plastics are generally good conductors of electricity is false.

So, the correct option is option B.

Note:

Due to COVID-19 and ban of plastics in countries like China, the European Union, Canada, and many countries in Africa, USA, the use of plastics have reduced. We can answer the above question on the basis of metals and non-metals. Usually metal conduct electricity due to their tendency to lose electrons whereas non-metals like plastics, rubber do not conduct electricity

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