![]() The material used plays an important part in the cable's resistance to heat and over-voltage situations. By this I mean that each internal conductor has a layer of insulation (with the appropriate color), and the whole cable is then insulated by a second layer. You'll typically find that modern " mains" cables are double insulated, with PVC. Mains cables have been insulated by many things over the years – from fabrics, rubber, and various other materials. This can also play into internal heating, melting, death, etc. which is pleasing to handle – but this can also cause problems and reduces the cable's ability to carry current. More strands of finer conductors can make the cable more flexible. Aluminium being a worse conductor of electricity than copper (for a given cross section – higher resistance per distance, approx 61% as good) raises the potential for internal heating, melting, fire, death, etc. However, due to the demand for copper, it has become more expensive, and alternatives have appeared – in particular " copper coated aluminium". This makes it quite suitable for use in cables. ![]() Conductor MaterialĬopper is a relatively good conductor of electricity (low resistance per distance), it's flexible, abundant, etc. This is the diameter of the conductive wire inside the cable – see American Wire Gauge / AWG for a common measurement.Ī thicker cable can carry more current, but costs more and is less flexible.Īn important factor is voltage drop due to resistance, and the potentially dangerous side effect of internal heating which can lead to melting the insulators, fire, death, etc. Is there anything to watch out for when swapping these cords, or do we only care about the adapter voltage/current requirements? Conductor Gauge look up " Big Clive" on YouTube for some interesting videos about such things.įor a good overview of poor cables, have a look at bigclivedotcom's " How to detect sh***y and dangerous aluminium flex" video. ![]() We are seeing more and more " unsuitable" cables packaged with things on eBay which have poor insulators, many strands of thin conductors, etc. Be on the lookout for poor quality cables, and throw them away recycle them.
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