Teflon insulated wire

[milkpowder 0]

Here goes my last off-topic post in this thread: Oxidation/reduction is formally and scientifically defined by change in oxidation numbers. Sure, oxygen may be involved in some, but not in all redox reactions. Exchange of oxygen is an unsatisfactory and elementary definition of oxidation/reduction. BTW, I am also relying on my high school A-level chemistry

[ezzo 0]

Yeah, I realised its not the "proper" way of calculating oxidation/reduction. Oh wells, secondary school stuff, my apologies.

[Cloud 0]

no worries. we all make mistakes. most important is learn from them eh. thats wat discussion is all about.

 

BTW: i was wondering y teflon insulation. Does all wires uses teflon or only the high grade cables uses that? Cause i remember my prof mentioning that teflon is expensive and thus no such thing as teflon chair ( i actually suggested that lol )

 

 

[milkpowder 0]

Teflon is used because of its extremely low dielectric constant. My very elementary understanding of what that means is that it does not store a lot of electrical energy relative to what a vacuum would store if you were to apply the same potential difference. By definition, a vacuum has a dielectric constant of 1. Air is just a tad higher than that whilst Teflon is about 2.1 or so. A bad insulator would literally soak up energy from the cable. Here endeth my knowledge...

[Cloud 0]

hmm interesting. maybe a candidate for FYP. Polymer with ultra low dielectric constant for audio cable insulation :D

Edited November 15, 2007 by Cloud

[nofing 0]

Wa guys. This discussion on oxidation states has left me wondering just how relevant the A level Chemistry syllabus is. For what it's worth, oxidation can be defined in a few manners. Of which,

 

1. The gain in oxidation state

2. The gain of oxygen atom(s)

3. The loss of electrons

4. The loss of hydrogen atom(s)

 

And reduction would be the opposite of oxidation. In practice or as far as I've observed, oxidation and reduction have to occur together thus the term redox reaction. They are not processes which occur singularly but as a pair. I will not boast about knowing anything which happens in practice since my education never ever taught me so. Pity though.

[Cloud 0]

Wa guys. This discussion on oxidation states has left me wondering just how relevant the A level Chemistry syllabus is. For what it's worth, oxidation can be defined in a few manners. Of which,

 

1. The gain in oxidation state

2. The gain of oxygen atom(s)

3. The loss of electrons

4. The loss of hydrogen atom(s)

 

And reduction would be the opposite of oxidation. In practice or as far as I've observed, oxidation and reduction have to occur together thus the term redox reaction. They are not processes which occur singularly but as a pair. I will not boast about knowing anything which happens in practice since my education never ever taught me so. Pity though.

 

You are experiencing it everyday. just that u didnt notice. corrosion of iron and its alloys, and oxidation of ur copper cables are just some everyday example of redox. oh well...

b4 mod does something to this thread.

 

Is the any other materials used other than teflon in cable insulation?

 

 

[gene83 0]

pvc is used in the cheaper variants.

[heady 0]

b4 mod does something to this thread.

 

I am not a mod but I think the discussion is good. And it is about teflon, even if indirectly. At least why teflon is used.

 

Wah, you young ones very smart nowadays. I don't remember studying chemistry like this 34 years ago. Oops reveal my age.

 

[Cloud 0]

I am not a mod but I think the discussion is good. And it is about teflon, even if indirectly. At least why teflon is used.

 

Wah, you young ones very smart nowadays. I don't remember studying chemistry like this 34 years ago. Oops reveal my age.

 

its just that i am more interested in chemistry and my course i am doing deals alot with chemicals and their properties. so the knowledge is kind of fresh.

 

hmm so for best sound. just leave the bare cables ard and polish once in a while?

[milkpowder 0]

hmm interesting. maybe a candidate for FYP. Polymer with ultra low dielectric constant for audio cable insulation :D

Just looking at what audio cable manufacturers use for insulation, Teflon is the most commonly used insulator because its dielectric constant is almost the lowest of any man-made material.

 

You are experiencing it everyday. just that u didnt notice. corrosion of iron and its alloys, and oxidation of ur copper cables are just some everyday example of redox. oh well...

b4 mod does something to this thread.

 

Is the any other materials used other than teflon in cable insulation?

Yeah. On cheaper cables, you'll find mostly polyvinyl chloride or polyethene. On more expensive cables, air and vacuum are the very best. Companies like Nordost use micro-filaments around the conductors to increase the volume of air and then encase them in Teflon tubes. Tara Labs also uses air insulation but goes right to the extreme with their top-of-the-line cables, attempting to do away with the insulation as much as possible with their vacuum technology.

[ezzo 0]

Cloud: I see, no wonder you seem pretty pro in Chemistry

 

As for Oxidation,

Gain in Oxygen as oxidation is due to the fact that oxygen is very electronegative and it basically oxidises everything it reacts with.

It is the opposite for Hydrogen, with a oxidation number of +1 (other than metal hydrides).

For reduction, it is just the other way round.

 

So it is "kind of" correct but not proper. I learned this in Secondary school and I think they should scrap it man. Haha. It is not in the A levels chemistry, it is just loss/gain of electrons.

 

 

Btw, I have seen silk and cotton used as insulation. Anyone have experience with them?

[milkpowder 0]

Ahh... cotton is supposed to have an even lower dielectric constant than Teflon! I'm not sure about silk though.

[Cloud 0]

Ahh... cotton is supposed to have an even lower dielectric constant than Teflon! I'm not sure about silk though.

 

ah tts the reason behind the big hoo ha over cotton cables.

interesting....

 

 

 

Cloud: I see, no wonder you seem pretty pro in Chemistry

 

As for Oxidation,

Gain in Oxygen as oxidation is due to the fact that oxygen is very electronegative and it basically oxidises everything it reacts with.

It is the opposite for Hydrogen, with a oxidation number of +1 (other than metal hydrides).

For reduction, it is just the other way round.

 

So it is "kind of" correct but not proper. I learned this in Secondary school and I think they should scrap it man. Haha. It is not in the A levels chemistry, it is just loss/gain of electrons.

Btw, I have seen silk and cotton used as insulation. Anyone have experience with them?

 

remember how we were taught electronic configurations where

 

2:8:8:2 ? not exactly true but then not exactly incorrect also

Edited November 15, 2007 by Cloud

[milkpowder 0]

remember how we were taught electronic configurations where

 

2:8:8:2 ? not exactly true but then not exactly incorrect also

Haha, the infamous electron configurations. Worked for a while, but once we touched on orbitals, everyone was either confused or mad about why we were basically lied to. The 2,8,8, etc explanation is extremely limited, just like the oxygen definition of oxidation. Works for the simple stuff, but insufficient once you touch on anything vaguely advanced.