Re: Mineral oil in australia??

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Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>


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From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
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Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2003 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: Mineral oil in australia??


 > Original poster: "Matthew Smith by way of Terry Fritz
<teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <matt-at-kbc-dot-net.au>
 >
 > Hi Sheik
 >
 > Try another name!
 >
 > >Hello, I have had lots of trouble finding mineral oil in australia =
 > >(brisbane).
 >
 > Also known as "liquid paraffin" in UK/AU English - my wife who is pure
 > Aussie uses this term, anyway  (I'm English).  It's used for drenching
 > horses and is sold by the gallon/4.5-ish litres.
 >
 > Please do *not* confuse with straight "paraffin" (kerosene in US
 > English)  I'm sure that it has fine dilectric properties; trouble is, it
 > has some rather flammable ones as well ;-)

Indeed, kerosene (or kerosine) makes a fine dielectric, as does diesel fuel,
however is more volatile than the heavier mineral/paraffin oil.

 >
 > I believe that paraffin is also obsolete chemical-speak for olefins, but I
 > may be wrong. (And confusing the issue.)

precisely the case.
Kerosene was originally a trade/marketing name for what was, at the time,
oil for use in lamps and heaters. There's also a distinction between asphalt
base and paraffin base crude oils, having to do with napthenic and
paraffinic content. Here in California, we have napthenic oils, in
Pennsylvania, they have paraffin base.  It has to do with what's left over
when you distill off the light fractions (i.e. gasoline)... candle wax (sold
as "paraffin" here in the US) or something suitable for roofing tar or
paving roads.