Plastics and electrical insulation

The paper is submitted to a joint meeting of plastics chemists and electrical engineersas a contribution to a general survey of the field in which their activities meet. It consists of the following parts:¿ (i) A brief discussion of dielectrics and the factors which represent their value to the electrical engineer. (ii) A discussion of the essential nature of plasticity, and of the characteristics which the chemist has to produce when synthesizing plastics for the moulding industry. (iii) An experimental investigation of the properties of synthetic resins of the bakelite type, and the way in which their electrical properties may be affected by chemical and physical factors. (iv) A brief discussion of the various synthetic plastics now available, and of such of their properties as are of importance in electrical practice, with some general conclusions as to lines of research which may be expected to yield results profitable to both the industrial chemist and the electrical engineer.