Wire

Work in progress, check back later

Why Wire?

What is wire gauge?

Unlike in circuits or electronics classes, in the real-world wire has resistance. In physics you'll learn the exact formula for calculating resistance of a given wire, but we don't especially need that. Instead, stick with the practical knowledge that the thicker the wire, the lower the resistance of that wire, and the longer the wire, the higher the resistance. Generally we will use copper wire, but it can be useful to know that aluminum can be used instead of copper. However for the same diameter and length of wire, aluminum has 60% more resistance than copper.

Wire gauge is a measure of the diameter of a wire. We will use the American Wire Gauge (AWG) as the "units" for measuring diameter. Confusingly, the larger the gauge of a wire, the smaller the diameter. In other words, 0 AWG wire is very large while 30 AWG is very small.

Power wiring vs Signal wiring

Types of wire

Solid Core

Stranded

Cable

Twisted shield pairs?