Wire

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.

Types

Wire comes in solid core, stranded, or braided forms. Although usually circular in cross-section, wire can be made in square, hexagonal, flattened rectangular, or other cross-sections, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency voice coils in loudspeakers. Edge-wound coil springs, such as the Slinky toy, are made of special flattened wire.

Production

In antiquity, gold wire was made by tumbaga rolling, a method related to goldbeating. Copper and bronze wires were made by a similar method. In the 19th century, wire was made by drawing in a similar manner.

Uses

Wires are used in a vast number of applications, all of which require different things from a wire. Wires are used in electrical and electronic circuits, suspension bridges, conveyors, and more.

See also

• Cable
• Copper wire and cable
• Wire gauge
• Wire rope
• Wire stripper

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