COuld it have been extremely thin silver plating that has worn off with usage of the receptacle ?
Also silver tarnishes (silver sulphate) ... perhaps it's just tarnish you're seeing ? I don't think copper will migrate through silver at room temperature. |
Psychicanimal, let me know what ever you find out. I've been using mine for about the some length of time with no discoloration. |
what color is your fridge? after a similar burn in ( the equivilent of 27 years in duration) all my cryoed recepticals are now avocado. is there something sinister going on here? FWIW, we have a stainless steel sub-zero.
-cfb |
Lighten up boys. There is some solid state diffusion that can occur in the copper/silver system but at room temperature I do not think you have enough time to wait for it to cause you a problem. If you continue to be worried, contact your University's metallurgy department for a phase diagram of the system and an explanation. What you report is surely an oxidation layer that can be easily removed. |
Sean-d, I noticed it first on the plate that holds the screws! I know it was silver when it was installed. Perhaps it is oxidation--I also noticed it on the insides.
As to wear, the plugs were just used once--about ten days each. They were left alone. It's a new receptacle.
I'll show you the ACME, Lak. You'll see... |
My understanding is yes it will. That is why siver plated copper is often first plated with nickel of some other metal. The issue becomes the nickel, how does it effect the signal? |
What you have is the silver corroding the copper underneath. This causes pock marks on the silver plating which cooks from the voltage applied to it, hence the coloration. Could very well be there's no nickel under the silver (typical of cheap-o plating with brighteners added to the silver to cut it.) |
Pierre Spray, Mapleshade guru, says that using refrigirators as cable burners condition the molecules with unmusical properties and you need a zillion hours of music playing to recondition them ! (IF, they are able to be
reconditioned again!) Theo |
The ACME is silver plated directly over the 688 brass, no substrate and 200 microns deep.....The brownish color is sulphur from air polluton and not copper leeching through or oxidation as silver doesn't oxidize at room temperatures.......I have some glorious sounding Switchcraft panel mount IEC connectors from fifteen years ago that have turned almost black with the sulphur..... |
Crump, I have two oil refinery less than two miles from me!
Should I do something about the air quality in my apt? I've been concerned about that.
So much for Audiogon's lawyer out of place comment... |
Psychianimal, I live in Houston so enough said about air quality as I have gotten to the point I don't trust air I can't see :-) Time for us both to move..... |
Well, Lak was here this afternoon and he told me the silver had indeed discolored. We got our outlets in the same Dutch auction last December.
He had a good time listening to my "DJ TT on steroids", too! |
I have also seen silver oxidize heavily at room temperature. It can be polished back to shiny though. |
Psychicanimal,
I was very impressed with the sound and looks of your system. I'm amazed at how detailed your system is with all types of music--CDs and vinyl. Very impressive! :-)
Let me know when you have your rig set up in the new location, and I'll bring over the digital camera so that we can put your system online. |
Of course silver oxidizes at room temperature. We don't polish it before a festive meal just for the heck of it, eh? And the black residue on our hands isn't sulphur, either. (Imagine if your silverware smelled like rotten eggs?!)
If ACMe's using 200microns (quite thick) then I doubt that you've burned through it with contact-sparking each time the fridge's compressor kicks on, nor worn it off from abrasion. But orange? Does sound like brass (copper)....
Maybe you should smell the ACME. Eggs? Ha! |
The smell you refer to is not sulphur--it's hydrogen sulphide. It usually occurs during *anaerobic* decomposition conditions. Not in this case, though.
Lak, I'm glad you enjoyed my system. I've worked very hard at reaching my goal: "A near field system capable of successfully playing any recording of any musical genre regardless of its recording quality."
You added the *looks* aspect and yes, I want my system and surrounding space to look nice--it's a reflection of my personality. |
Subaruguru. Why should silver sulphide (tarnish) have a similar smell to hydrogen sulphide ? Are you suggesting that all sulphur compounds smell the same? Have you ever smelled sulphuric acid? Doesn't smell much like hydrogen sulphide. Tarnish is silver sulphide.
It was common for babies in England to receive a silver egg cup for their christening. The joke is that silverware is completely inappropriate for use with boiled eggs since the eggs contain sulphur and therefore tarnish the silver extremely rapidly. Try breaking a soft boiled egg on a silver plate sometime and see what happens. |
Thanks for the tip re the sulFides! |
Eggs have sulphur. The human body is mainly H2O. Sulphur(s)+ H2O(l) = H2S (gas). No wonder I can't eat eggs!!! |
