WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WIRES AND CABLES?

Let’s start with some individual definitions:
  • Wire: A wire is a single conductor made up of an electrically conductive material like aluminum or copper. This conductor can be made up of one strand of material or a group of strands and may be left bare or surrounded by a color-coded sheath. Regardless of the number of strands used to make the conductor, having a single conductor means you’re working with a wire.
  • Cable: A cable is made up of multiple conductors surrounded by some type of insulation. You can also have a cable in which conductors are individually insulated and then twisted together. Cables often have a hot wire that carries current, a neutral wire that completes the loop and a grounding wire.
In essence, cables are made up of multiple wires, while wires are made up of one or multiple conductors. Both can have a wide range of purposes, with wires providing the backbone for a vast range of cables that go in everything from appliances to buildings to heavy machinery.
Wires are measured with the American Wire Gauge (AWG), a standard that indicates wire thickness according to its diameter. The smaller the number, the larger the wire and the greater amount of current it can carry. AWG typically applies to wires that use single strands of its conductive material, but it can also be used to refer to stranded wires and cables. In these cases, it refers to the diameter of the cross-section.

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