Originally Posted by FallenAngel
PVC and PE are VERY different. PE is a Teflon (C) - as is PTFE. It's genrally thinner, has MUCH higher resistance and melts at MUCH higher temperatures.
Unless there is some special audio lingo that I'm missing, Teflon and PE are also not the same.
PE = polyethylene = polyethene = the polymer of [C2H4]n
PVC = polyvinylchloride = the polymer of [C2H3Cl]n
PTFE = Teflon (tm) = polytetrafluoroethylene = the polymer of [C2F4]n
Wikipedia has chemical structures of all three, if you're curious.
PE is a very common consumer plastic, for example, it is used to make milk jugs. PVC is another common plastic; it is used for many drain pipes in residential houses. PTFE is also common, but a bit more exotic...it is often used as a nonstick coating, or in applications where being chemically inert is important. The thin, stretchy white plumber's tape is made of PTFE.
Polymers are chemicals made by chemically assembling many monomers together. Polymers can have different properties depending on the size of the molecules (that is, "n" in the formulas above...or how many monomers are connected per monomer). For example, low density PE is used to make milk jugs...while ultra-high density PE is used to make artificial hip replacements and other high-impact trinkets.
The dielectric of a material (in classical terms) is related to the chemical composition of a material, and to its density. Density matters because vacuum or air (or another void material) also have an associated dielectric value.
A "dielectric" is simply a non-conductive material that is able to screen a charged field. PE, PVC and PTFE are all dielectrics. Different formulations of PE can have a different dielectric, and so on.
Don't mean to be pedantic, hope this helps clarify.
Linear Mode
