John Ferrell wrote:
>
> It is a very common mineral that is available in several forms. I believe
> that Vermiculite that is used by gardeners and sometimes for thermal
> insulation by builders is one form.
>
> I THINK it is the material that used to be used for windows in wood stoves
> and sometimes lab furnaces.  Called Isinglass(?)
>
> It is used as a component in paint because of its reflective qualities.
>
> It is fragile in thin sheets, but otherwise nearly indestructible.


Mica is GREAT for transistor heatsink washers.
I have a big collection of mica TO-3 washers from
the 70's, and you can split them with a razor
blade and make 3 or 4 thinner washers from each
standard one. You can cut them down with scissors
to make small washers for TO-220 too.

When Philips switched to plastic washers their
TVs started failing as the plastic broke down,
mica washers don't fail, they are the only type
that don't get pinhole faults on TV output stages
from the high volts punching through.
-Roman

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