Division 2: PROPERTIES AND SPLICING OF CONDUCTORS

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTING WIRES AND CABLES

1. Electrical conducting wires and cables are available in a great variety of types and forms of construction. To cover this one subject completely would require a large volume. The aim of the authors has been, therefore, to include in this division sufficient general information with respect to the materials employed, method of construction, and types available so that the reader can select intelligently the proper cable for a given application. At the end of the section, more detailed tabular information is included for the types of cables that the average worker will use most frequently.

2. Electric wire and cable terminology

Wire. A slender rod or filament of drawn metal. (This definition restricts the term wire to what would ordinarily be understood by the term solid wire. In the definition the word slender is used in the sense that the length is great in comparison with the diameter. If a wire is covered with insulation, it is properly called an insulated wire, although the term wire refers primarily to the metal; nevertheless, when the context shows that the wire is insulated, the term wire will be understood to include the insulation.)

Conductor. A wire or combination of wires not insulated from one another, suitable for carrying a single electric current. (The term conductor does not include a combination of conductors insulated from one another, which would be suitable for carrying several different...