Refers to an electrical insulator, typically a ceramic or composite device used to support and separate electrical conductors.
White insulators are lined up on the utility pole.
Insulators on high-voltage lines need regular inspection.
umbrella insulator
cup insulator
Common mixed kana-kanji spelling; usually written in kana.
Technical kanji spelling; 碍 is not a jōyō kanji, so this form is less common in everyday writing.
Kana-only spelling; usually written in kana.
Old-form kanji spelling using 礙 (kyūjitai of 碍); rarely encountered.
Compound of 碍 (gai, 'obstruction' or 'hindrance') and 子 (shi, 'small thing' or 'element'). The kanji 碍 is a simplified form of 礙, meaning 'to obstruct'. The word was coined in the late 19th or early 20th century as a technical term for electrical insulators.