Any arcing condition is Russian roulette for both the user of the product and the manufacturer

ROD-L's 10 Microsecond Critical Arc Standard was Developed with Industry Leaders in 1976 and Remains the Key Benchmark for Product Safety and Liability

Of the 3 basic categories of hipot testing failures (overcurrent, ground fault, and arcing), arcing is the most critical. Arcing happens when a path of lower resistance is sensed by the flow of electricity seeking ground.

All common electrical products consist of two main sections; 1) the active circuitry, and, 2) the user-accessible components. If the user-accessible components ever become energized, even small amounts of current could be harmful or fatal.

Hipot testing guarantees that active circuitry is surrounded by insulation strong enough to prevent current from reaching user-accessible components. Insulation must prevent electricity from passing to the user-accessible components throughout the entire life of the product.

In other words, the electricity flowing in the active circuitry must be prevented from ever finding shortcuts through the insulation.

Any safety testing must predict whether the insulation will breakdown during the expected lifetime of the product. Arc detection, which uncovers the present danger of current reaching the user-accessible components at the time of the test, is the key indicator of future danger. We have found that arcs over 10 microseconds can gradually grow, by burning away insulation, to the point where dangerous levels of electricity may reach the user-accessible components.

Because arcs between 10 to 100 microsecond don't become dangerous until years after the product has been shipped, it is critical that Hipot units test arcs at 10 microseconds to avoid liability, harmful or fatal electric shock during the products expected or intended lifetime.

Arc detection that misses the 10 microsecond range cannot detect hidden conditions that could later create a catastrophic event for the end user and the manufacturer.