12.1 DEMANDS ON ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS THAT FAVOR MECHANICAL ATTACHMENT

A strong case can be made that no other technology has favorably changed the lives of humans or favorably impacted the economy of countries more than the ability to generate, control, and distribute electricity. In fact, it is hard to imagine the world without it! Electricity lights and often heats and cools our homes, offices, and factories. It enables the production of essential chemicals (e.g., chlorine), primary metals (e.g., aluminum), as well as many engineering ceramics, cement, and composites. It powers the machines ^[1] that, in turn, produce the automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, ships, and airplanes we rely on for local, interstate, and international transportation, trade, and commerce. It brings us entertainment via radio and iPod , TV and CD, cinema and DVD, and PlayStation and Xbox . And, the thought of life without cellphones and computers is, after only decades, almost unimaginable! The ready availability of electricity is one of the greatest differentiators between developed and under-developed countries. It "brings good things to life." ^[2]

To move electricity requires that it be conducted through suitable carriers, which are, quite literally, known as "conductors." Almost all conductors used in the transportation of electrical energy are made of copper or aluminum or alloys based on one or the other of these metals. The reason for this is simple: Both allow the electricity to move relatively unimpeded compared to all other metals. ^[3] To move electricity from...