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In Reply to: RE: Point-to-point wiring? posted by Eli Duttman on September 22, 2016 at 08:52:11
Eli,
I keep seeing folks using PTFE or Teflon insulated wire. What's so wonderful about that vs polyethylene, except for heat resistance? PE has lower dielectric constant.
Thanks,
Jerry
Follow Ups:
Heat resistance is VERY important. I've spent a fair amount of time using nail polish to re-insulate PVC covered wire that had melt back/"burn", after soldering. :> (
PTFE is very good in the heat resistance dept., but it is a major PITA to strip, without nicking the copper. If somebody has a good source for solid core, tin (preferred) or silver plated, 22 AWG "Tefzel" insulated wire I'd very much like to hear about it. "Tefzel" is intermediate between PTFE and "Kynar" among fluorocarbon polymers for heat resistance and ease of use.
Eli D.
Eli,
That's kind of what I thought; but I also see "Teflon" featured in other kinds of wiring like interconnects and even speaker cables. My thought about that was "I wonder if they know PTFE can store charge on it's surface?"
We once had a line of powder coating spray guns that used PTFE as the internal surfaces. From the friction of the powder running against it, the PTFE would accept electrons from the powder, leaving the powder grains with a net positive charge. Once the PTFE stored enough charge and the electric field got strong enough, the electrons would then "hop" from site to site along the PTFE surface until it got close enough to ground to discharge, or even arc over. It didn't seem to me that was a behavior you wanted in audio wiring. The phenomenon does not occur at low field strengths; but some power supply configurations might be high enough. FEP is a lot less susceptible. PTFE has a higher dielectric constant than PE, so you probably would not want it in coaxial cables. There, Foamed PE is probably the best choice for lowest dielectric constant (except for air).
Thanks,
Jerry
Very interesting!
Dave
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