INSULATOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does insulator mean? 

• INSULATOR (noun)
  The noun INSULATOR has 1 sense:

1. a material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity

  Familiarity information: INSULATOR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSULATOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

dielectric; insulator; nonconductor

Hypernyms ("insulator" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insulator"):

bushing (an insulating liner in an opening through which conductors pass)

mineral wool; rock wool (a light fibrous material used as an insulator)

glass wool (glass fibers spun and massed into bundles resembling wool)

Antonym:

conductor (a substance that readily conducts e.g. electricity and heat)

Derivation:

insulate (protect from heat, cold, or noise by surrounding with insulating material)

 Context examples 

Myelin is a substance that contains both protein and fat (lipid), serving as a nerve insulator and helping in the transmission of nerve signals.

(Multiple Sclerosis, NCI Dictionary)

Thicker winter snow cover served as an insulator, creating slightly higher temperatures — about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the experimental plots.

(Rising tundra temperatures lead to changes in microbial communities, National Science Foundation)

For their study, the Cambridge researchers squashed layers of FePS3 together under high pressure (about 10 Gigapascals), they found that it switched between an insulator and conductor, a phenomenon known as a Mott transition.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)

This structure acts as an electrical insulator that allows nerve impulses to travel faster by increasing the resistance and decreasing the capacitance over that found in unmyelinated nerve fibers.

(Myelin Sheath, NCI Thesaurus)

It is used in high-technology ceramics, electronic heat sinks, electrical insulators, high-power devices, high-density electrical circuits, microwaves, X-ray windows, nuclear reactor fuels and for various aerospace and military applications.

(Beryllium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)

Under pressure, the planes are pressed together, gradually and controllable pushing the system from three to two dimensions, and from insulator to metal.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)

Researchers have found that certain ultra-thin magnetic materials can switch from insulator to conductor under high pressure, a phenomenon that could be used in the development of next-generation electronics and memory storage devices.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)