Electrical faults are in most cases dramatic events for magnets, due to the large stored energy which is potentially available to be dissipated at the fault location. After a reminder of the principles of electrostatics in Section 1, the basic mechan
isms of conduction and breakdown in dielectrics are summarized in Section 2. Section 3 introduces the types and function of the electrical insulation in magnets, and Section 4 its relevant failure mechanisms. Section 5 deals with ageing and, finally, Section 6 gives some principles for testing. Though the School specifically dealt with warm magnets, for completeness some principles of dielectric insulation for superconducting accelerator magnets are briefly summarized in a dedicated appendix.
