Talk-Polywell.org

As the voltage increases, water droplets, or air bubbles, within polymers slowly change from their spherical shape to a more tubular shape, causing extremely large deformation within the material. Over time, this can lead to cracking and failure of the polymer, the researchers said. Polymers are a class of "soft" materials that can be found almost everywhere, most commonly as an insulator for electrical wires, cables and capacitors. Droplets or bubbles can be trapped in these polymers as defects during fabrication.