stuart Posted February 26, 2022 Report Share Posted February 26, 2022 Theres always one smart alec. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted February 26, 2022 Report Share Posted February 26, 2022 A dielectric material has electrical properties that don't matter much in low voltage automotive systems (other than that they are good electrical insulators). The properties can be important at high voltages and frequencies, like in the seconary ignition ciucuits. They efficiently support electric fields with minimal losses. They don't have to be silicon based, but many are. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ali King Posted February 26, 2022 Report Share Posted February 26, 2022 'Dielectric' has always confused me, does it promote conductivity between contact points or diminish conductivity (insulate)? Therefore, should it be applied to contact points or not? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted February 26, 2022 Report Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) A dielectric is an insulator. Don't get it between any conductive parts. Usually it is a solid, and technically what it does is increase the permittivity (Farads per metre) of the gap between conductors, relative to that of air which is unity. That is important for example in the physical size of capacitors or when designing a radio-frequency cable or connector with a particular characteristic impedance. 'Dielectric grease' is intended for waterproofing and eliminating air pockets in RF connections so that the characteristic impedance of the connection is maintained. Edited February 26, 2022 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ali King Posted February 27, 2022 Report Share Posted February 27, 2022 22 hours ago, RobH said: A dielectric is an insulator. Don't get it between any conductive parts. Usually it is a solid, and technically what it does is increase the permittivity (Farads per metre) of the gap between conductors, relative to that of air which is unity. That is important for example in the physical size of capacitors or when designing a radio-frequency cable or connector with a particular characteristic impedance. 'Dielectric grease' is intended for waterproofing and eliminating air pockets in RF connections so that the characteristic impedance of the connection is maintained. Thanks Rob. I think that I now finally know that I don't really need a can (tube?) of the stuff on my garage shelf. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scaf Posted March 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2022 And neither do I, it’s was out to me as something that will help the connections - so I am glad I asked ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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