
The cables that run through our houses are a familiar wire that most of us are aware of. There are three conductors in this wire: ground, neutral, and hot. Today's wires can have one conductor or literally hundreds of conductors.
A wire is a single conductor that is usually made of steel (not for electrical usage), aluminum, or copper. Solid and stranded wire are the two primary varieties. One single strand of drawn copper, aluminum, or another conductive metal is used to create solid wire, which is fashioned into a long, thin, flexible, but yet strong string.
Fixture supports, uninsulated wires, cable clamps, and insulated wires are all counted as one conductor. Outlets, switches, and other devices are each considered to have two conductors. Jumper wires that are completely contained within the box are not considered conductors.
When two 2-wire circuits are needed to power a single circuit, three-conductor wire can be utilized instead. For instance, in the same space, the black might power a row of outlets while the red might power a row of recessed lighting fixtures. Both share the white (see image below).
When a charged object comes into contact with a neutral object, charging by conduction occurs. Therefore, charge is shared by the two conductors when an uncharged conductor comes into contact with a charged conductor, charging the uncharged conductor in the process.
Utility services and feeder circuits (400 amp and above) typically employ parallel wires. To create the equivalent of a single conductor with a higher ampacity rating, two or more sets of phase conductors are put in separate conduits and electrically linked at both ends.
Multi-core cables are another name for multiconductor cables. Every conductor has an insulating jacket that provides it with resistance to heat, moisture, and chemicals, among other protective qualities. Generally speaking, they are easily soldered and fairly flexible.
It is made up of two to four copper conductors, sized between 14 AWG and 1 AWG, enclosed in an interlocking steel or aluminum metal armor. According to UL 4, type AC cable cannot be made larger than 1 AWG and can only contain a maximum of four insulated conductors plus a grounding conductor (for a total of five conductors).
Conductor bundling causes capacitance to rise. The capacity of bundled conductors to lessen corona discharge is a significant benefit. A decrease in corona discharge production results in reduced power loss and enhanced line transmission efficiency.
How to Calculate the Bending RadiusBending Radius of Cable Type as a Multiple of Cable Overall Diameterwires with many conductors that are each individually insulated. 12 times the total cable diameter or 7 times the diameter of each individual cable (pairs, triads, etc.); whichever is larger