In earlier articles, I have explained the-
- difference between insulator and conductor with specifications
- different types of insulator with specification, properties and uses
Here, we are going to study the major difference between an insulator and a dielectric.
Insulator vs Dielectric [in Tabular Form]
| # | Content | Insulator | Dielectric |
| 01 | [Definition] What is an insulator & a Dielectric? | The material which does not allow to flow of electric current in an applied electric field is called as an ‘Insulator’. | The material which allows to flow of electric current in an applied electric field is called as a ‘Dielectric’. |
| 02 | Function of insulator & Dielectric | The insulator does not store the electric charge. | The dielectric stores the electric charge. |
| 03 | Polarization | The insulator can not be polarized under the influence of the electric field. | The dielectrics can be easily polarized under the influence of the electric field. |
| 04 | Molecular bond | It has a covalent bond. | It has weakly bond as compared to the insulator. |
| 05 | Property of conductivity | The insulator has low conductivity. | The dielectric has high conductivity. |
| 06 | Property of Resistivity | It has high resistive power. | It has low resistive power. |
| 07 | Can any insulator be a dielectric? | All insulators are not worked as dielectrics. | But, all dielectrics are worked as insulators. |
| 08 | Protection | The insulator does not require protection due to the absence of conducting material. | The dielectric requires protection due to the presence of conducting material. |
| 09 | Dielectric constant | The insulator has a low dielectric constant. | The dielectric has a high dielectric constant. |
| 10 | Used | It is mainly used for limiting current to the desired path. | It is used for flowing electric current to the desired path. |
| 11 | Insulating & Dielectric materials | The insulator finds in the form of glass, cotton, plastic, mica, rubber, etc. | The dielectric media finds in the form of dry air, vacuum, distilled water, etc. |
| 12 | Application of insulator & dielectric | It is used in transmission and distribution systems, and other conducting wires. | It is used in the battery, capacitor, power cables, mineral oil (especially in transformer tank), dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO), etc. |
These are the basic points to distinguish between dielectric and conductor. If you have any queries regarding the insulator or dielectric, please comment below.
Read other more comparisons:
- Alternating current vs Direct current
- Active power vs Reactive power
- Power vs Energy
- Capacitor vs Inductor
- Active component vs Passive component
- Electrical circuit vs Magnetic circuit
- Core transformer vs Shell transformer
- Overhead line vs Underground line
- AC transmission vs DC Transmission
Thanks for Reading!
I have completed master in Electrical Power System. I work and write technical tutorials on the PLC, MATLAB programming, and Electrical on DipsLab.com portal.
Sharing my knowledge on this blog makes me happy. And sometimes I delve in Python programming.