Copper wire and cable

A copper wire is a single electrical conductor made of copper.Albert Jackson; David Day, Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-to (New York: Hearst Books, 2009), p. 282 It can be insulated or uninsulated. A copper cable is a group of two or more copper wires bundled together in a single sheath or jacket. Copper wire and cable is used in power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and countless types of electrical equipment. It has been useful ever since telegraphs and electromagnets were invented.

Copper is the most widely used conductor in many kinds of electrical wiring.Adrian Waygood, An Introduction to Electrical Science (Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013), p. 40 Copper has the lowest resistance to the flow of electricity of all non-precious metals. Electrical wiring in buildings is the most important market for the copper industry. About half of all copper mined is used to make electrical wire and cable conductors.

 Properties of copper useful for the copper wire 
 Electrical conductivity
 Tensile strength
 Ductility
 Orange
 Strength and ductility combination
 Creep resistance - the copper does not change a lot because of heat.
 Corrosion resistance
 Coefficient of thermal expansion
 Thermal conductivity 
 Solderability
 Ease of installation

 References 


Category:Electrical wiring
Category:Copper