Re: oil dielectric

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Mark Fergerson by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <mfergerson1-at-cox-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Xyme3-at-aol-dot-com>
> 
> Air?
>     Free, self healing, good dielectric strength.
>     Oil scares me from being flammable, tho many people
>     use it.  I Have my doubts water can be kept
>     sufficiently pure.
> 
>     best
>     dwp
> 
> I suspect liquid nitrogen would be best, and also impractical

  I've had similar thoughts re: LN2 but can't seem to find
any info on its electrical properties (dielectric constant,
loss factor, characteristic spark length WRT air, etc.). Got
references (preferably on the web) to share?

  It's not all that expensive, and yes, handling it is
something of an art, but "impractical" is a relative term in
TC work.

> Thanks for tthe advice.
> Tesla used boiled out oils which might be less flammable. Air is however of
> variable conductivty especially in the presence of ozone. Maybe if it were
> somehow possible to exclude air entirely, the oil could not catch fire.

  Actually, as I read his writings, he boiled it out because
air trapped in the windings is a source of heating and
arcing due to its dielectric properties, not a fire hazard.

  Mark L. Fergerson