GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ABRASION
RESISTANCE
Ability
of a
wire,
cable
or
material
to
resist
sur
face
wear.
ALLOY
A
metal
formed
by
combining
two
or
more
different
metals
to
obtain
desirable
proper
ties.
ALTERNATING
CURRENT
(AC)
Electric
current
that
continually
reverses
its
direction.
It is
expressed
in
cycles
per
second
(Her
tz or
Hz).
AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE
The
temperature
of
the
medium
surrounding
an
object.
AMPACITY
The
maximum
current
an
insulated
wire
or
cable
can
safely
carr
y
without
exceeding
either
the
insulation
or
jacket
material
limitations.
AMPERE
A
unit
of
current;
one
ampere
is
the
current
flowing
through
one
ohm
of
resistance
at
one
volt
potential.
ANNEAL
To
soften
and
relieve
strains
of
metal
by
heating
to
just
below
melting
point
then
slowly
cooling.
Annealing
lowers
the
tensile
strength
of
copper,
while
improving
flex
life
and
flexibility.
ANSI
American
National
Standards
Institute.
ASA
American
Standards
Association.
Former
name
of
ANSI.
ASME
American
Society
of
Mechanical
Engineers.
ASTM
American
Society
for
Testing
and
Materials.
ATTENUATION
Reduction
of
signal
strength
during
transmission.
In
cables,
generally
expressed
in dB
per
unit
length,
usually
1000
feet.
AUDIO
FREQUENCY
The
range
of
frequencies
audible
to
the
human
ear.
Usually
20-20,000
Hz.
AWG
American
Wire
Gauge.
AWM
UL
designation
for
appliance
wiring
material.
BAND
WIDTH
The
frequency
range
of
transmitted
electrical
signals,
expressed
in
Her
tz.
BARE
CONDUCTOR
A
conductor
having
no
covering,
coating
or
cladding
on
the
copper.
BEND
RADIUS
Radius
of
cur
vature
that a
cable
can
bend
before
the
risk of
breakage
or
increased
attenua-
tion
occurs.
To
determine
bend
radius
a
good
rule
of
thumb
is
not
to
exceed
ten
times
the
cable
diameter.
BINDER
A
spirally
ser
ved
tape
or
thread
used
to
hold
cable
components
in
place.
BOND
The
attachment
at an
inter
face
between
an
adhesive
and
an
adherent
or
between
materials
attached
by
adhesive.
BOND
STRENGTH
Amount
of
adhesion
between
sur
faces,
e.g.,
in
bonded
ribbon
cables.
BRAID
A
group
of textile or
metallic
filaments
inter
woven
to
form
a
tubular
flexible
structure
which
may
be
applied
over
one
or
more
wires
or
flattened
to
form
a
strap.
BRAID
ANGLE
The
smaller
of
the
two
angles
formed
by
the
shielding
strand
and
the
axis
of
the
cable
being
shielded.
BRAZING
The
joining
of
ends
of
two
wires
or
groups
of
wires
with a
nonferrous
filler
metal
at
temperatures
in
excess
of
800°F
/
427°
C.
w w w. n e w e n g l a n d w i r e . c o m
Te l : 6 0 3 . 8 3 8 . 6 6 2 4
©
2005
New
England Wire Technologies
191
