Electrical Paths

Electrical Paths

Paths are conductors that connect the other components of an electrical circuit. Paths allow the electricity to flow and limits where it can flow by surrounding the conductor with an insulator. Sometime air is used as the insulator but that allows someone or something to touch the conductor and possible create a short circuit. Many wires are now covered with an insulating material like plastics to keep the electricity with and to prevent shorts. All metals are conductors but wires are most often made of copper, aluminum or gold.

Kinds of Wires

Solid - also called solid-core or single-strand wire, consists of one piece of metal wire. Solid wire is useful for wiring breadboards. Solid wire is cheaper to manufacture than stranded wire and is used where there is little need for flexibility in the wire. Solid wire also provides mechanical ruggedness; and, because it has relatively less surface area which is exposed to attack by corrosives, protection against the environment. A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number. The term wire is also used more loosely to refer to a bundle of such strands, as in 'multistranded wire', which is more correctly termed a wire rope in mechanics, or a cable in electricity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire

Stranded - similar to solid wire, but has multiple separate wires bundled together in one jacket/covering. This makes it much more flexible than solid wire and thus makes it better for stressing jobs, like being in a assembly robot that has to move constantly. Also, since the multiple wires give more surface area compared to solid wire, it has better conductivity and loses much less energy/electricity. Stranded wire is also used when resistance to metal fatigue is needed. Finally, stranded wire can come in many different sizes (7 wires to over 100 wires), and variaions (free wires, short circuited wires, soldered wires, etc).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire#Stranded_wi...

Braided - a wire made of small wires twisted together, similar to stranded wire. Like stranded wire, braided wires are better conductors than a solid wire. Braided wires are used to combine conductors as well, giving one wire multiple uses, these wires can be used to create clearer sound or video. The main effectiveness of these wires is when used in tight, narrow, or places with lots of corners, this is because braided wires are very flexible, and do not break easily when bent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire#Braided_wir...

Aluminum wire is a common type of wire used primarily in aircraft, houses, and the power grid. Aluminum wire transmits electricity and has a better conductivity to weight ratio over another common wire which is copper. Aluminum wires are important because they are commonly used in modern day machines and housing. Aluminum wires are used for transmitting electricity. Aluminum wiring has been used since early 1900's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_wire

Copper Wire has been implemented into electronic technology since the early 1800's with the invention of the electromagnet and telegraph. The demand for copper wire increased with the creation of the telephone in 1876. Copper is a great conductor of electricity so it is used in the generation, transmission, and distribution of power(electricity). Copper is also used because it is a very strong element that does not corrode easily. It is not very affected by moisture making it very valuable when wiring areas that may experience some sort of moisture. Copper wire is used in houses, appliances, electric motors, transformers, and many other components. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_wire_and_...

Wire Sizes

Multiple Conductor Wires

Connecting Wires

Soldering - a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Soldering differs from welding in that soldering does not involve melting the work pieces. Soldering in the electricity is an assembly process that is use to join two electrical components with a solid conductive connection. This is especially important when making connection in electronic circuits where the conductors are carrying electronic signals. Without solid conductive connections, bumping the component might cause a temporary break or fluctuation in the conductivity of the circuit which could interrupt or change the signal being sent through it. Mass-production printed circuit boards (PCBs) are soldered mostly by wave soldering or reflow soldering. In wave soldering, parts are temporarily kept in place with small dabs of adhesive, and then the assembly is passed over flowing solder in a bulk container. This solder is shaken into waves so the whole PCB is not submerged in solder, but rather touched by these waves. The end result is that solder stays on pins and pads, but not on the PCB itself. Reflow soldering is a process in which a solder paste (a mixture of prealloyed solder powder and a flux-vehicle that has a peanut butter-like consistency) is used to stick the components to their attachment pads, after which the assembly is heated by an infrared lamp, a hot air pencil, or, more commonly, by passing it through a carefully controlled oven. There is evidence that soldering was employed as early as 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Sumerian swords from 3000 BC were assembled using hard soldering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering#Origin...

https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/christ...

Wire Nut - plastic exterior with tampered coiled metal insert that threads onto the wires and holds them securely, and are available in many sizes and shapes.Twist-on wire connectors are a type of electrical connector used to fasten two or more low-voltage (or extra-low-voltage) electrical conductors. Wire Nuts work by having coiled metal(like a screw on cap) and twists onto the wire to hold them.Twist-on wire connectors are a type of electrical connector used to fasten two or more low-voltage (or extra-low-voltage) electrical conductors. It is used to connect two or more wires. The wire nut was invented by William P. Marr in May 26th, 1931 Ontario Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twist-on_wire_connector

Post

Ring Terminal

Spade Terminal

Banana Connector

Connectors

Wire Management

Cable Ties

Sheathing

Conduits

Raceways