Another e-mail from Olaf this morning.
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Al,
Russian scientist make further staggering claim the alloy if put in reducing atmosphere at 540C while carrying a small dc current for several hours develop a tough non-conducting outer skin. This surface layer self-heals if scratched and consists of some sort of complex metal-carbide/oxide similar to anodising but thicker. This makes it unnecessary to insulate wires with plastic or rubber sheaths up to 4000 volts. Coloured wire can me made by infiltrating the layer with aniline dyes, as it is porous. The film is easy removed by dipping cut ends briefly in polymeric di-hydrogen oxide, a harmless solvent, to make good electrical connection. Sounds interesting to me but we are setting up tests for next week.
We just got some breaking news. You can get a more detailed explanation at United States of America Emassy in Stockholm on
http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/Holidays/celebrate/april.html love to all
Ollie
