🔍 Key Concepts

• Effect of contamination on electrical insulation (leakage paths, surface tracking) • Antenna efficiency and radiation power when there are losses on the feed/insulation surfaces • High-voltage corona discharge behavior on dirty or salty insulators

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens when moisture, salt, or dirt on an insulator creates a partial conductive path—how might that affect the actual power getting to the antenna? • If high voltages are involved, how does contamination on the surface of insulators influence the likelihood of corona discharge? • Could contamination cause measurement instruments (like antenna current meters) to show unstable or misleading readings, and if so, why?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how surface leakage or partial shorts affect: (1) current readings, (2) radiated power, and (3) high-voltage behavior like corona • Check whether dirty or salt-encrusted insulation typically causes only one of the listed effects, or if it tends to cause multiple related problems at the same time • Consider that salt and dirt plus moisture can turn an insulator into a resistive path, and trace what that would do to each option A, B, and C before choosing your answer