Nonconductive shiny metals

You suppose? I thought I made it clear that rust wasn't a metal. Metals are generally elements or mixtures of elements or mixtures of elements and other substances. There are a few zingers with carbon, maybe others. Alloys, especially Eutectic alloys, I believe are still classed as mixtures, although a very special case. So no, rust is no more a metal than zink oxide is a metal. Compounds are generally not metals. However, I imagine the definition of metals varies somewhat by discipline.

On 26 Oct 2004 19:48:02 -0400, snipped-for-privacy@d-and-d.com (DoN. Nichols) vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Well, this argument is really purely surmise until the OP COMES BACK AND ADDRESSES HIS OWN POST and all the replies!

Apologies for the misleading subject line. The text of the message is the operative question. This aside, let me elaborate on my need. I am really seeking a faux metal: a material that will pass for reflective metal on cursory inspection by the untrained eye, but need not have the same tangible properties, such as weight or extreme durability. Yet, it should not be so frangible that it cannot survive light daily handling and the occasional drop. Since it will be touched in a mildly electrically live environment (low-voltage), it should have little conductivity. A non-conductive/insulative material is preferred.

Plastic mirror material comes to mind. Polycarbonate or Acrylic, with an aluminum (I suspect) or possibly silver backing - that may be conductive, but the face is not. The basic problem with your request is as others have explained - surfaces do not look like reflective metal without being somewhat conductive (generally from having a layer of metal on them, if they are non-metallic). The further from "really looks like reflective metal" you get, the better your odds of finding an acceptable plastic or paint are.

If you are looking at small flat sections, you could cut polycarbonate ones out of old compact discs. Larger sheets of plastic mirror are available.

rubbish

There is just as much there to "hold" the pole any way. It is just under water, but so is the southern pole, just a matter of what % of the cover water is frozen.

jk

I wonder if semiconductors like galena or pyrite might be useful... probably not eh?

The only way you'll get a metallic surface is with a metal, but a durable clear coat can be applied so it insulates.

The biggest problem with any metallized plastic is that it's still going to be conductive across the width. The thickness is fine though, since you have one or two metallized surfaces seperated by a plastic layer.

Tim

I know this may be a silly suggestion but how about bright anodised aluminium? its non-conductive (well at least the anodised layer) and it can be made fairly shiny - with good polishing.

As others have pointed out, the subject suggests an impossibility: a nonconductive metal.

Furthermore, as others have already pointed out, most materials with a "metallic sheen" ARE metallic, and hence conductive. The problem is that the very properties that make the metallic sheen are the same properties that make it conductive.

I have read about a plastic film material produced by the 3M Corporation that is very shiny. I THINK it is the product referred to by this link:

Lasers used dielectric mirrors that were coated with many alternating layers of organic materials which had extremely high efficiency. Poly-ethylene looks a little silvery when on a roll because of the many layers but the best example in nature is fish scales, a natural dielectric reflector. The laser mirrors had to be protected from moisture. Charlie