Fire Safety in the Lab

[charlie1218]

Originally Posted by lukevanoort

This is news to me. I'm curious why that is? I can see why it might be an issue with some kinds of insulation (like paper... ugh). However, I don't understand why the temporary heat would be affecting the copper in that manner, except for possibly adding energy that could speed up the oxidation reaction.



.

As you heat up any metal with intense heat, especially at a gauge that small, you cause it to rapidly expand, and contract, which causes finite cracks. This causes the wire to become brittle and greatly weakened, so that when the electric current passes through, its heat, which a normal wire can stand, is now too great and will cause a short in your wiring, which causes high heat. This heat will in turn compromise your remaining insulation and further damage the conductor. Essentially a giant Cluster*^%&