2 ms·
In hindsight, I should have guessed they targeted the oil. An acquaintance of mine worked in glass applications for electrical systems. Truly fascinating stuff
by shadowgovt 4y ago
In hindsight, I should have guessed they targeted the oil.
An acquaintance of mine worked in glass applications for electrical systems. Truly fascinating stuff; they combine the materials science of glass with the chemistry of the oil to make for very high-current fuses. The oil acts as a very good thermal conductor, but at too high a current, it expands and puts pressure against the glass insulator it's contained in. Once the pressure is high enough, the glass explodes and rapidly mechanically separates the conductors. Tolerances have to be extremely tight on both the glass thickness and the oil consistency to get the desired effect, and there's no way to test except destructively, so the process has to be extremely repeatable.
... but of course, oil-filled components are vulnerable to a few bullets.
- mikewarot 4y agoThere's a tank above the transformer that provides pressure and expansion room, that handles temperature shifts and small amounts of leakage. The fins have a high surface area, and would surely flex outward enough to absorb any high frequency spike from a bullet.