Lyndon
Bronze Member
Junkman's right, it's plated, not solid nickel. Since the terminations are the places that screw up the most, lots of types of wire are "Tinned". In some cases this is a mixture of lead and tin or nickel. It inhibits corrision and makes a better connection at the termination point, wether it's a pressure connector such as a screw, or some type of Crimped connection. Even though Silver is one of the best conductors, it has a bad habit of tarnishing and therefore is not a good choice. That and the fact that it melts at a low temperature and is soft. The list of conductors goes something like this:
Tin, good conductor, medium melting temperature, cheap,
Lead, slightly better, low melting temperature, cheap, doesn't corrode
Aluminum, fairly good conductor, corrodes, cheap,medium melting temperature
Copper, Better conductor, fairly corrision resistant, higher melting temperature, more expensive.
Nickel, Super high melting temperature, ultra hard, Does Not corrode and it's a better conductor than Copper, more expensive.
Silver, The Best conductor, corrodes, melts at a low temperature, soft, and fairly expensive.
Gold, the 3rd best conductor,Does not corrode,melts at a low temperature, soft(the most maluable metal) cost heaps!
Platinum, one of the best conductors, higher melting temperatur than nickel, ultra hard, does not corrode and costs more than gold.
There is practally a direct correlation between the cost and the desireability of a metal as an electrical conductor. Every time a switch sparks it vaporizes some of the contacts. So high temperature metals are desireable. An electric Arc runs about 22,000 degrees, hotter than a cutting torch(7000 degrees), hotter than a nuclear reaction (12000 deg), hotter than outer flames of the Sun. Only the internal temperatures of the Sum (40,000 Deg) exceed that of an electric arc. Just about every material known to man vaporizes at or below about 8000 deg. So every time a solenoid closes, or a relay or switch sparks some of the material is vaporized. Since the terminations are rarely as good as the conductor itself this tends to be the weak point.
Tin, good conductor, medium melting temperature, cheap,
Lead, slightly better, low melting temperature, cheap, doesn't corrode
Aluminum, fairly good conductor, corrodes, cheap,medium melting temperature
Copper, Better conductor, fairly corrision resistant, higher melting temperature, more expensive.
Nickel, Super high melting temperature, ultra hard, Does Not corrode and it's a better conductor than Copper, more expensive.
Silver, The Best conductor, corrodes, melts at a low temperature, soft, and fairly expensive.
Gold, the 3rd best conductor,Does not corrode,melts at a low temperature, soft(the most maluable metal) cost heaps!
Platinum, one of the best conductors, higher melting temperatur than nickel, ultra hard, does not corrode and costs more than gold.
There is practally a direct correlation between the cost and the desireability of a metal as an electrical conductor. Every time a switch sparks it vaporizes some of the contacts. So high temperature metals are desireable. An electric Arc runs about 22,000 degrees, hotter than a cutting torch(7000 degrees), hotter than a nuclear reaction (12000 deg), hotter than outer flames of the Sun. Only the internal temperatures of the Sum (40,000 Deg) exceed that of an electric arc. Just about every material known to man vaporizes at or below about 8000 deg. So every time a solenoid closes, or a relay or switch sparks some of the material is vaporized. Since the terminations are rarely as good as the conductor itself this tends to be the weak point.
