We've put together a list of words, abbreviations, acronyms and descriptions that will help describe many of the terms on this site, as well as offering a wealth of information on a wide range of related subjects.

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A.C. Resistance

Abrasion Resistance

Accelerated Aging
Tests where voltage, temperature, etc., are increased above normal operating conditions to obtain observable deterioration in a relatively short period of time. The plotted results give expected service life under normal conditions.

Active Current
In an alternating current, a component in phase with the voltage; the working component as distinguished from the idle or watt less component.

Active Pressure
In an A.C. circuit the pressure that products a current as distinguished from the voltage impressed upon the circuit.

The state in which interfacial forces that may be chemical or mechanical in nature hold tow surfaces together.

Aerial Cable

The irreversible change in properties or appearance of a material with time and under specific conditions (usually accelerated representations of environmental states, such as high temperature, oxygen or other various conditions or media).

Air Gap
The minimum gap of air between two conducting surfaces permissible at given voltages.


Alternating Current (AC)
Electric current that continually reverses its direction. It is expressed in cycles per second.

Ambient Temperature
The temperature of a medium surrounding an object.

American Wire Gauge (AWG)
A standard system for designating wire diameter. Primarily used in the United States.

Amp or Ampere


The unit of current. One ampere is the current flowing throughout one ohm of resistance at one volt potential.

Representation of data by continuously variable quantities.

The relief of mechanical stress through heat and gradual cooling. Annealing copper renders it less brittle.

Abbreviation for American National Standards Institute.

A substance which prevents or slows down oxidation of material exposed to heat.

Area of conductor
The size of a conductor cross-section measured in circular mils, spare inches, etc.

A wrapping of metal, usually steel or aluminum, used for mechanical protection. Placed over the jacket sheath.

Armored Cable
A cable having a metallic covering for protection against mechanical damage.

Abbreviation for American Standards Association. Former name of ANSI.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Aspect Ratio
The ratio of length to diameter of yarn filament or yarn bundle.

American Society for Testing and Materials.

Power loss in an electrical system. In cables, generally expressed in dB per unit length, usually 1,000 ft.

Audio Frequency
Those frequencies audible to the human ear, generally considered to be in the range of 32 to 16,000 hertz (Hz).

Abbreviation for American Wire Gauge. The standard system used for designating wire diameter. The lower the AWG number, the larger the diameter.

UL or CSA designation for Appliance Wiring Material.

Axis of Braiding
The average direction of all yarns in a braided fabric.

Band Marking

The difference between the upper and lower limits of a given band of frequencies. Expressed in hertz (Hz).

Bare Conductor
An electrical conductor with no coating or cladding on the copper.

Bend Radius
The radius of curvature that a wire or cable can bend without causing any damaging effects.


One binary digit.

Bit Error Rate (EBR)
Discrepancy between outgoing and incoming bits transmitted between date equipment.

A cylinder or slightly tapered barrel, with or without flanges, for holding slubbings, rovings, or yarns.

The attachment at an interface between an adhesive and an adherent or between materials attached together by adhesive.

Bond Strength
Amount of adhesion between surfaces, e.g. in cemented ribbon cable.


Braid Angle
The smaller of the two angles formed by the shielding strand and the axis of the cable being shielded.

Braid Carrier
A spool or bobbin on a braider which holds one group of strands or filaments consisting of a specific number of ends. The carrier revolves during braiding operations.

Braid Ends

Braid, Biaxial
Braided fabric with two-yarn systems, 1 running in the 0 direction, the other in the -0 direction.

Braid, Diamond
Braided fabric with an over one, under one weave pattern, (1 x 1).

Braid, Elastic
Any variety of braids incorporating in the longitudinal direction elastic materials either in the axial positions or as a core.

Braid, Fancy
A collective term applied to a great many braids which cannot be classified in a more specific manner, including ric-rac, gimp, looped braids, etc.

Braid, Flat
A narrow bias woven tape wherein each yarn is continuous and is intertwined with every other yarn in the system without being intertwined with itself.

Braid, Hercules
A braided fabric with an over three, under three weave pattern, (3 x 3).

Braid, Jacquard
A braided design made with the aid of a jacquard machine, which is a shedding mechanism by means of which a large number of ends may be controlled independently and complicated patterns produced.

Braid, Regular
A braided fabric with an over two, under two weave pattern, (2 x 2).

Braid, Square
A variation on tubular braid wherein the yarns are pushed into a square formation.

Braid, Three-Dimensional
Braided fabric with no less than three braiding yarns in the through thickness direction.

Braid, Triaxial
A braided fabric with laid in yarns running in the longitudinal direction.

Braid, Two-Dimensional
Braided fabric with two braiding yarns in the through thickness direction.

Breakdown of Insulation

Breakdown Voltage
The voltage at which the insulation between the two conductors breaks down.


Building Wire
Wire used for light and power, 600 volts or less, usually not exposed to an outdoor environment.

Bunch Stranding
A group of wires of the same diameter twisted together without a predetermined pattern.

A group of eight binary digits.

A cable guide mechanism manufactured of either plastic or metal used in continuous flexing applications.

Abbreviation for Canadian Standards Association. A not-for-profit membership based association that serves business, industry, government, and consumers in Canada and the global marketplace.

A group of individually insulated conductors in twisted or parallel configuration with or without an overall covering.

Cable Assembly
A length of fiber optic cable with connectors on one or both ends.

Cable Buffer
The protective material used to coat the next layer up from the fiber coating. This is usually 900 um. Also referred to as buffered fiber. This layer is applied by the cable manufacturer.

Cable Filler

The twisting together of tow or more insulated conductors to form a cable.

Cabling Factor
Used in the formula for calculating the diameter of an unshielded, unjacketed cable, D=Kd, where D is the cable diameter, K is the factor and d is the diameter of one insulated conductor.

Computer Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing.

Campus Backbone
Wiring between buildings that share telecommunications facilities.

Canadian Standards Association
A non-profit, independent organization which operates a certification service for electrical and electronic materials and equipment.


Capacitance, Direct

Capacitance, Mutual
The capacitance between two conductors with all other conductors including shield, short-circuited to ground.

A friction type take-up device which moves braided fabric away from the fell.

A mechanism for carrying a package of yarn through the braid weaving motion. A typical carrier consists of a bobbin spindle, a track follower, and a tensioning device.

Caterpillar Take-Up Mechanism
A friction type take-up device which involves two reciprocating belts between which a braided structure is pulled. The device moves braided fabric away from the fell.

An acronym for Community Antenna Television.

Cellular Polyethylene
Expanded or "foam" polyethylene consisting of individual closed cells suspended in a polyethylene medium.

Certificate of Compliance (C or C)
A certificate which is normally generated by the Quality Control Department, which shows that the product being shipped meets customer's specifications.

Certified Impedance

Characteristic Impedance
The impedance that, when connected, to the output terminals of a transmission line of any length, makes the line appear infinitely long. The ratio of voltage to current at every point along a transmission line on which there are no standing waves.

The complete path through which a current flows or part of the complete path, such as one conductor.

Circular Mil
The area of a circle one mil (.001") in diameter; 7.845 x 10-7 sq. in. Used in expressing wire cross sectional area.

Cables intended for general purpose use within buildings in accordance with the National Electric Code Section 725-53 (e).

The material surrounding the core of the fiber. This material provides optical insulation and holds (confines) the modes in the fiber.

A device used to cleanly break the fiber prior to installing the connector.

Cables intended for general purpose communications use within buildings in accordance with the National Electric Code Section 800-53 (c).

A material applied to the surface of a conductor to prevent environmental deterioration and helps to facilitate soldering.

Coaxial Cable

Cold flow

Cold Test

Color Code
A system for circuit identification trough use of solid colors and contrasting tracers.

Common Axis Cabling
In multiple cable constructions, a twisting of all conductors about a "common axis" with two conductor groups then selected as pairs. This practice yields smaller diameter constructions than does a separate axis construction, but tends to yield greater

Composite Cable


Concentric Stranding


The ability of a conductor to carry an electrical charge. The ratio of the current flow to the potential difference causing the flow. The reciprocal of resistance.

The capability of a material to carry electrical current- usually expressed as a percentage of copper conductivity (copper being 100%).

An uninsulated wire or combination of wires suitable for carrying electrical current.

A tube or trough in which insulated wires and cables are passed.

Devices used to physically and electrically connect tow or more conductors. Connectors are a generic device for providing an electrical interface between electrical equipment and/or a power source. Our connectors may not be mated or unmated under load

Connectors (Fiber Optical)
A device used on the end of a fiber optic cable that allows attachment/ interconnection to a transmitter, receiver or another fiber optic cable. Examples of most popular types are ST, SC SMA, FDDI and Biconic styles.

The part of a connector, which actually carries the electrical current, and are, touched together or separat4d to control the flow.

Continuity Check
A test to determine whether electricity current flows continuously throughout the length of a single wire or individual wires. In a cable.

Continuous Vulcanization
Simultaneous extrusion and curing of elastomeric wire coating materials.

Control Cable
A multiconductor cable made for operation in control or signal circuits.

A compound resulting from the polymerization of two different monomers.

A small flexible insulated cable.

In cables, a component or assembly of components over which additional components (shield, sheath, etc.,) are applied.


Corona Test
A test to determine the ability of a cable to withstand the formation or corona under an increasing applied voltage and to extinguish corona when a corona-producing voltage is reduced.

The deterioration of a material by chemical reaction or galvanic action.

The minute cracks on the surface of plastic materials.

A framework arranged to hold slivers, rovings, or yarns so that many ends can be withdrawn smoothly and evenly without tangling.

The dimensional change with time of a material under load.

Creep distance
The minimum dimension along the surface of an insulating material between two conducting surfaces.

The angulations induced into a yarn and a woven fabric via the weaving process.

Crimp Angle
The maximum acute angle of a single weaving yarn's direction measured from a plane parallel to the surface of the fabric.

Crimp Exchange
The process by which a system of woven yarns reaches equilibrium when put under tension or compression.

Crimp Termination

Critical Angle
The angle above which total internal reflection happens. At angles lower than the critical angle, the light is refracted through the cladding.

Inter-molecular bonds between long chain thermoplastic polymers by chemical or electron bombardment means. The properties of the resulting thermosetting materials are usually improved.

Signal interference between nearby conductors by pickup of stray energy. It is also called induced interference.

Abbreviation for Cathode Ray Tube, common terminology for a video display terminal. Also referred to as VDU or VDT.

The rate of flow of electricity in a circuit, measured in amperes.

Current-Carrying Capacity
The maximum current an insulated conductor or cable can continuously carry without exceeding its temperature rating. This is also called ampacity.

Cut-Through Resistance
The ability of a material to withstand mechanical pressure, (usually a sharp edge or small radius) without separation.

Cycle Life
The number of repetitive flex motions that a wire or cable can withstand prior to breakdown.

Abbreviation for "Direct Current." DC values= AC /RMS Values.

Decibel (dB)
A unit to express differences of power level. A term that expresses to power levels used to indicate gains or losses in a system.

A generally accepted linear density for yarn and yarn systems. One denier equals one gram per 9000 meters.

Derating Factor

Any insulating material between two conductors, which permits electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it.

Dielectric Breakdown
The voltage at which a dielectric material is punctured. Which is divisible by thickness to given dielectric strength.

Dielectric Constant (K)

Dielectric Strength
The voltage which insulation can withstand before breakdown occurs. Usually expressed as a voltage gradient (such as volts per mil).

Dielectric Test

Representation of data by discrete characters.

Direct Burial Cable
A cable installed directly into the earth.

Direct Capacitance

Direct Current (DC)
An electric current, which flews in only one direction.

Direct Current Resistance (D.C.R.)

The cause of bandwidth limitation in a fiber. Dispersion causes a broadening of input pulses along the length of the fiber. Two major types are

Drain Wire

An underground or overhead tube for carrying electrical cables.

Duplex Insulated
In the thermocouple industry, a combination of dissimilar metal conductors of a thermocouple or thermocouple extension wire.

Abbreviation for Electronic Industries Association.

A class of long-chain polymers capable of being crosslinked to produce elastic compounds, e.g. polychloroprene and ethylene propylene rubber.

Pertaining to the combined electric and magnetic fields associated with movement of electrons through conductors.

Electromotive Force (emf)


The fractional increase in length of a material stressed in tension.

Abbreviation for Electromagnetic Interference.

An individual sliver, roving, yarn, thread, or cord.

In braiding, the numbers of essentially parallel wires or threads on a carrier.

An adhesive used in the connector termination process.

Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPR)
An ozone resistant rubber consisting primarily of ethylene propylene copolymer (EPM) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EDPM).

Expanded Diameter
Diameter of a shrink tubing as supplied. When heated, the tubing will shrink to its extruded diameter.

External Interference
The effects of electrical waves or fields which cause spurious signals other than the desired intelligence, e.g. noise.

The process of continuously forcing both a plastic or elastomer and a conductor core through a die, thereby applying a continuous coating of insulation or jacket to the conductor or core.

Unit of capacitance whereby a charge of one coulomb produces a one-volt potential difference.

Fatigue Resistance
Resistance to metal crystallization, which leads to conductors breaking from flexing.

Stands for Fiber Data Distributed Interface.

The point of braid formation, which is defined as the point at which the yarns in a braid system cease movement relative to each other.

A unit of matter, either natural or man-made, which forms the basic element of fabrics and other textile structures. A fiber is characterized by having a length at least 100 times its diameter or width.

Fiber Coating
The protective layer of material above the fiber cladding. Usually 250 um diameter, however, it can be 500 um or 900 um. This layer is applied by the fiber manufacturer.

Fiber Optics
Light transmission through optical fibers for communication, including voice, video and data.

Fill (Filling)
In a woven fabric, the yarn running from selvage to selvage at right angles to the warp.

(1) A material used in multiconductor cables to occupy large interstices formed by the assembled conductors. (2) An inert substance added to a compound to improve properties or decrease cost.

Flame Resistance
The ability of a material not to propagate flame once the flame source is removed.

Flame retrace

The measure of the material's ability to support combustion.

Flammability Test
A test to determine the ability of a cable to resist ignition when placed near a source of heat and to self-extinguish when removed from the heat source.

Flat Cable
A cable with two smooth or corrugated but essentially flat surfaces.

Flex Life


The quality of a cable or cable component which allows for bending under the influence of an outside force, as opposed to limpness which is bending due to the cable's own weight.

Foamed Plastics
Insulations having a cellular structure.

Former Plate
A die attached to a braiding machine which helps to locate the fell.

Number of times that an alternating current reverses itself in one second. Expressed in Hertz (Hz), which is one cycle per second.

Flammability rating established by Canadian Standards Association for a vertical flame test of cables in cable trays.

Flammability rating established by Canadian Standards Association for horizontal flame and smoking testing of cables.

Flammability rating established by Canadian Standards Association for a vertical flame test of wire and cable.

A term used to denote the physical size of a wire.

Gigahertz (Ghz)
A unit of frequency equal to one billion hertz.

Abbreviation for General Purpose Interface Bus Assembly typically used for interconnecting measurement devices.

A conducting connection between an electrical circuit and the earth or the large conducting body to serve as an earth thus completing the electrical circuit.

Multiple surface defects on the end of a fiber. Increases connector loss possibly to the point of not transmitting light.

Any of the five elements

An arrangement of wires and cables, usually with many breakouts, which have been tied together or pulled into a rubber of plastic sheath, used to interconnect electric circuits.

Hash Mark Stripe

Heat Distortion
Distortion of a material due to the effects of heat.

Heat Resistance

Heat Shock

Helical Stripe
A continuous, colored, spiral stripe applied to a conductor for circuit identification.

Helix Angle
See Braid Angle.

Unit of inductance such that the induced voltage in volts is numerically equal to the rate of chance in current in amperes per second.

Hertz (Hz)


Hook-up Wore

Readily absorbing and retaining moisture.

DuPont's trade name for their chlorosulfonated polyethylene, an ozone resistant synthetic rubber.

Abbreviation for Hertz.

European Standardization agency; International Electrtechnical Commission.

Abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Impact Strength
A test for determining the mechanical punishment a cable can withstand without physical or electrical breakdown by impacting with a given weight dropped a given distance, in a controlled environment.


Index of a Refraction
The ratio of the velocity of light in free space to the velocity of light in a given material.

The property of a circuit or circuit element that opposes a change in current flow, thus causing current changes to lag behind voltage changes. It is measured in henrys.

A material having high resistance to the flow of electric current. Often called dielectric in radio frequency cable which is used to separate close electrical components, such as cable conductors and circuit components.

Insulation Resistance (I.R.)
That resistance offered by an insulation to an impressed dc voltage, tending to produce a leakage current through the insulation.

Insulation Thickness
The wall thickness of the applied insulation.

Interconnecting Cable

Electrical or electromagnetic disturbances which introduce undesirable responses into other electronic equipment.

Intersection Repeat
The term applied to the path of a yarn in a woven fabric representing a single unit of a repeating pattern.

Voids or valleys between individual strands in a conductor or between insulated conductors in a multi-conductor cable.

Abbreviation for Insulated Power Cable Engineers Association.

In insulations, the exposure of the material to high-energy emissions for the purpose of favorably altering the molecular structure by cross-linking.

Instrument Society of America.

International Standards Organization.

An outer covering, usually nonmetallic, mainly used to protect the cable core from the environment.

Jammed State
The state of a braided fabric under tension where the deformation of the fabric is dominated by the deformation properties of the yarn and not by crimp exchange.

Conductor area expressed in thousands of circular mils.

Registered trade mark of E.I. Dupont for the aramid fibers used for adding strength to a fiber optic cable.

Kilometer (km)
1000 meters or 3, 281 feet (0.621 miles)

A method of constructing fabric by interlocking sees of loops of one or more yarns.

Tensile Strength in thousands of pounds per square inch.

Pennwalt trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a fluorocarbon material typically used as insulation for wire wrap wire.

Laid-in Yarns
A system of longitudinal yarns in a frazil braid which are inserted between the bias yarns.

Lapping Film
A film used in the connector termination process to gradually remove and/or polish a connector/fiber end. Diamond lapping film is the highest quality; others include alumna, cerium, chromium, carbide, etc.

A light source used in conjunction with an optical fiber.


Lay Direction

Leakage Current

Life Cycle

Limits of Error
The maximum deviation (in degrees of or percent) of a thermocouple extension wire from standard emf-temperature to be measured.

Line Voltage

An optical cable with connectors attached to a transmitter and receiver (source and detector).

A device that consumes power from a sauce and used that power to perform a function.

Local Area Network (LAN)
A baseband or broadband interactive bi-directional communication systems for voice, video or data use on a common cable medium.

Longitudinal Shield

Longitudinal Shrinkage
A term generally applied to shrink products denoting the discrete axial length lost through heating in order to obtain the recovered diameter.

Loop Resistance

Loose Tube Cable
A cable construction in which optical fiber(s) are loosely contained. Usually used in outdoor applications due to better performance over a broader temperature range that tight buffer constructions.

Low Loss Dielectric
An insulating material that has a relatively low dielectric loss, such as polyethylene.

Lower limit temperature
The lower limit temperature is the minimum permissible temperature at which a Heavy Duty connector can still be operated.

Magnetic Field
The region within which a body or current experiences magnetic forces.

Magnetic Flux

Magnetic Noise
Caused by change in current level, e.g. AC power line (creates magnetic field around that cable) this magnetic field caused the magnetic noise.

A male tool typically used in braiding for the formation of braids with irregular cross sections.

A meltable coating used on the inside of some shrink products which, when heated, flows to encapsulate the interstitial air voids.

Mating cycles
Mating cycles are the number of insertion and extraction cycles a connector can withstand before electrical or mechanical failure in relationship to the connector's design specification.

Acronym for Master Antenna Television System- a combination of components providing multiple television receiver operations from one antenna or group of antennas; normally on a single building.

Maypole Braider
A braiding machine, or circular weaving machine, which manipulates a serious of yarn carriers through a path identical to that of a maypole dance.

One thousand circular mils.

One million ohms.

A group of insulated wires to be cabled with other stranded groups into multiple-element cable.

The linear supporting member, usually a high strength steel wire, used as the supporting elements to a suspended aerial cable. The messenger may be an integral part of the cable, or exterior to it.

One meter equals 3.28 feet.

Megahertz (one million cycles per second). Formerly Mc.

A form of increased attenuation caused by having the fiber curved around a restrictive radius of curvature, or microbends caused by minute distortions in the fiber imposed by externally induced perturbations. Excessive bend loss may result from poor d

Micron (um)
Millionth of a meter.

A short (usually less than 30 cm.) electrical wave.

A unit used in measuring diameter of a wire or thickness of insulation over a conductor. One one-thousandth of an inch (.001").

One millimeter equals 0.03937 inches.


A permitted field pattern within waveguide fiber.

The coding of information onto the carrier frequency. Modulation means include (among others) amplitude, frequency, or phase pulse many forms of on-off digital coding.

Modulus of Elasticity
The ratio of stress to strain in an elastic material.

Moisture Absorption

Moisture Resistance

The basic chemical unit used in building a polymer.

An acronym for thermoplastic insulated Machine Tool Wire.

Multi-Mode Fiber
An optical waveguide which allows more than one mode to propagate. Step index and graded index fibers are multi-made.

More than one conductor within a single cable construction.

Simultaneous transmission of two or more messages over the same cable medium.


Dupont trade name for a polyester material.

Nanometer (nm)
One billionth of a second, expressed as 10 sec.

One thousandth of one one-millionth of a second (10-9) seconds).

National Electrical Code (NEC)
A consensus standard published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 70) and incorporated in OHSA regulations. These regulations govern construction and installation of electrical wiring and apparatus in the U.S.

Abbreviation for National Bureau of Standards.

National Electrical Manufactures Association.

Trade name for polychloroprene synthetic rubber, a compound used for jacketing.

Abbreviation for National Fire Protection Association. That association responsible as the Administrative Sponsor of the National Electrical Code. Also identified as "ANSI Standards Committee CI."

Non-Contaminating PVC
A polyvinylchloride formulation, which does not produce electrical contamination.

A group of polyamide polymers which are used for wire and cable jacketing.


The electrical unit of resistance. The value of resistance through which a potential difference of one volt will maintain a current of one ampere.

Ohm's Law
E= 1 x R. Voltage (E) is directly proportional to the product of current (I) and resistance (r) or circuit.

Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)
An instrument designed to measure transmission characteristics of fiber by sending a pulse of light down the fiber and measuring the light scattered across the length and reflected back from the ends as a function of time.

Abbreviation for Occupational Safety and Health Act. Specifically, the Williams-Steigler law passed in 1970 covering all factors relating to safety in places of employment.

Percentage of a gas released during the combustion of insulation or jacketing material.

Overall Diameter
Finished diameter over wire or cable.

The amount the trailing edge laps over the leading edge of a tape wrap.

Oxygen Index
Percentage of oxygen necessary to support combustion of a material.

Two insulated wires of a single circuit associated together.

The union of two insulated single conductors through twisting.


Parallel Cable
Two insulated conductors run parallel in a cable.

Parallel Wound
A term used to describe yarn or other material wound into a flanged spool.

PCB Solder Contacts
Circular contacts which mount directly to a circuit board.

Physical Earth, the same as ground.

Peak Voltage
Maximum instantaneous voltage.

Acronym for Polyethylene terephthalate, a thermoplastic polymer resin often used in the manufacture of synthetic fibers and food and beverage containers.

Photodetector (Receiver)
Transforms light into electricity. For relatively fast speeds and moderate sensitivity in the 0.75 um to 0.95 um area wavelength, the silicone photodiode is most commonly used.


Pick Count
The number of filling yarns per inch or per centimeter of a fabric.

A length of fiber optic cable with connectors on one end.

A device used to convert optical signals to electrical signals in a receiver.

The movement of a connectoried fiber axially in and out of a ferrule end, often caused by changes in temperature.


Pitch Diameter
Diameter of a circle passing through the center of the conductors in any layer of a multi conductors cable.

Very similar to the term "pick" although applying only to bias weaving process. A plait is the crossing of two braiding yarns.

Plait Count
The number of braiding yarn crossings per inch measured along the axis of a braided fabric.

Plastic Deformation

A chemical agent added to plastics to make them softer and more pliable.

The air return path of a central air handling system, either ductwork or open space over a dropped ceiling or beneath a floor.

Plenum Cable
Fire and smoke resistant cable Listed by Underwriters Laboratories for installation in plenums without the need for conduit.

Plied Yarn
A yarn formed by twisting together two or more single yarns in one operation.

Polyethylene terephthalate that is used extensively in the production of a high strength moisture resistant tape or film used as a cable core wrap.

A family of insulations derived from the polymerization of ethylene gas and characterized by outstanding electrical properties, including high I.R., low dielectric constant, and low dielectric loss across the frequency spectrum. Mechanically rugged, it

a substance made of many repeat chemical units or molecules. The term polymer is often used in place of plastic, rubber, or elastomer.

A family of thermoplastics based upon the unsaturated hydrocarbons known as olefins. When combined with butylenes or styrene polymers, they form compounds such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

A thermoplastic polymer of propylene.

A family of flexible, abrasion resistant jackets used for XTRA-GUARD 2 harsh environment cables.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
A thermoplastic material composed of p0lymers of vinyl chloride that may be rigid or flexible, depending on specific formulation.

A general-purpose family of insulations whose basic constituent is polyvinylchloride or its copolymer with vinyl acetate. Plasticizers, stabilizers, pigments and fillers are added in lesser quantity to improve mechanical and/or electrical properties of

Multiple air voids in an insulation or jacket wall.

The sealing of a cable termination or other component with a liquid which thermosets into an elastomer.

Power Factor
The ratio of resistance to impedance. The ratio of an actual power of an alternating current to apparent power. Mathematically, the cosine of the angle between the voltage applied and the current resulting.

Primary Insulation
The first layer of non-conductive material applied over a conductor, whose prime function is to act as electrical barrier (sic...insulation).

Delay time required for an electrical wave to travel between two points on a transmission line.

Pulling Eye
A device fastened to a cable to which a hook may be attached in order to pull the cable into or from a duct.

A four-conductor cable.

Rated Current
The related current is the current at which a connector can continuously (not intermittently) conduct through all contacts simultaneously without exceeding the upper limit temperature.

Rated Temperature

Rated Voltage

Abbreviation for Rural Electrification Administration. A branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for the standardization of the independent telephone companies throughout the U.S.

The opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by inductance or capacitance of a component or circuit.

Recovered Diameter
Diameter of shrinkable products after heating has caused it to return to its extruded diameter.

Reference Junction
The junction of a thermocouple which is at a known reference temperature. Also known as the "cold" junction, it is usually located at the emf measuring device.

Refractive Index
Ratio of light velocity in a vacuum to its velocity in the transmitting medium.

A material used to strengthen or give dimensional stability to another material.

The amount of optical power lost due to the number of matings (de-matings) a connector experiences.

A transmitter and receiver combination used to regenerate a signal.


In DC circuits, the opposition a material offers to current, measured in ohms. In AC circuits, resistance is the real component of impedance and may be higher than the value measured at DC.

Retractile Cable

Return Loss
The amount of optical power reflected back through the connector due to the different mediums the light travels through stated in dB. This phenomenon can be controlled somewhat by the type of end finish the connector has. (Flat, Physical Contact (PC),

Abbreviation for Radio Frequency Interference.

Abbreviation for Radio Government, Universal. RG is the military designation for coaxial cable and U stands for "general utility."

Ribbon Cable
A flat cable of individually insulated conductors lying parallel along the outer surface of an insulated wire for purposes of identification.

Ringing Out

Rise Time
The time required for the initially zero potential existing on transmission line (which is terminated in its characteristic impedance) to change from 10% to 90% of its full DC value after a DC potential source is instantaneously applied.

Root Mean Square (RMS)
The effective value of an alternating current or voltage.

Rope Lay Conductor
A conductor composed of a central core surrounded by one or more layers or helically laid groups of wires.

The path followed by a cable or conductor.

In spun yarn production, an intermediate state sliver and yarn.

In the breaking strength or tensile strength test the point at which the material physically separates or comes apart, as opposed to elongation, yield strength, etc.

Abbreviation for Society of Automotive Engineers.

The characteristic of a material whose flame extinguishes after the igniting flame is removed.

Self-Supporting Cable
Any cable that incorporates a steel rope or steel sheath for added tensile strength, thus enabling it to be suspended between widely spaced supports.

Selvege or Selvedge
The narrow edge of a woven fabric that runs parallel to the warp.

Semi-Rigid PVC
A hard semi-flexible polyvinyl chloride compound with low plasticizer content.

A material that has a resistance characteristic between that of insulators and conductors.



Served Wire Armor

The outer covering or jacket of a multi-conductor cable.


Shield Coverage

Shield Effectiveness
The relative ability of a shield to screen out undesirable signals.

Shock Test

Shrink Temperature
That temperature which effects complete recovery of a shrinkable product from the expanded state.

Shrink Tubing
Tubing which as been extruded, cross-linked, and mechanically expanded which when reheated will return to its original diameter.

Shrinkage Ratio
The ratio between the expanded diameter and recovered diameter of shrinkable products.

A current used to convey information, either in digital, analog audio or video.

Signal Cable

Mode of data transmission in one direction only. Usually on a two-wire facility.

Single Mode Fiber
A fiber wave-guide which only one mode will propagate.

Fusion of a spirally applied tape wrap jacket by the use of high heat to a homogenous continuum. Usually employed for fluorocarbon, non-extrudable materials.

A generic term for compounds which are applied to yarns to bind the fiber together and stiffen the yarn to provide abrasion-resistance during weaving. Starch, gelatin, oil, wax and man-make polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene, poly acryilic

Skin Effect
The phenomenon in which the depth of penetration of electric currents into a conductor decreases as the frequency increases.

A common name for a braided, extruded or woven tubular fabric.

Soldering Sleeves
Shrinkable tubing with a solder perform used for highest reliability soldering connections or shield grounding.

Solid Conductor
A conductor consisting of a single wire.

The means (usually LED or laser) used to convert an electrical information-carrying signal into a corresponding optical signal for transmission by an optical wave-guide.

In flat cables, the distance from the reference edge of the first conductor to the reference edge of the last conductor (in cables having flat conductors) or the distance between the centers of the first and last conductors (in cables having round condu

Spark Test
A test designed to located imperfections (usually pin-holes) in the insulation of a wire or cabled by application of a voltage for a very short period of time while the wire is being drawn through the electrode field.

Specific Gravity

A slender upright rotation rod on a spinning frame, roving frame, twister or similar machine.

Spiral Wrap
The helical wrap of a material over a core.

A mechanical device or fusion process that permanently bonds two fibers together without a connector producing extremely low loss.

Stability Factor
The difference between the percentage power factor at 80 volts/mil measured on wire immersed in water at 75% C for a specified time.

Static Condition

Shielded Twisted Pair cable.

A single fiber, filament, or monofilament. An ordered assemblage of textile fibers having a high ratio of length to diameter and normally used as a unit.

Stranded Conductor
A conductor composed of groups of wires twisted together.

Strip Force

Suggested Working Voltage
AC voltage that can be applied between adjacent conductors.

Surface Resistively

A temporary, large increase in voltage or current in an electric circuit or cable.

Sweep Test
A method to determine the frequency response of a cable, by generating an RF voltage whose frequency is varied at a rapid constant rate over a given range.

Tank Test

Tape Wrap
A spirally applied tape over an insulated or uninsulated wire.

Abbreviation for Time Division Multiplexing.

Tear Strength

Dupont trade name for a fluorocarbon material typically used as the insulation on wire wrap wire.

Temperature Rating
The maximum and minimum temperature at which an insulating material may be used in continuous operation without loss of its basic properties.

Classified procedure which details the complex measurement of the combined reduction of all electromagnetic emissions from specified equipment.

Tensile Strength
The pull stress required to break a given specimen.

Test Voltage
The test voltage is the maximum voltage at which a connector will not be subjected to flashover under the set conditions.

Thermal Rating

Thermal Shock

A device consisting of two dissimilar metals in physical contact, which when heated, will develop an emf output.

Thermocouple Element

Thermocouple Extension Cable
A pair of wires of dissimilar alloys having such emf-temperature characteristics complimenting the thermocouple which is intended to be used, such that when properly connected allows the emf to be faithfully transmitted to the reference junction.

A material which softens when heated or reheated and becomes firm on cooling.

A material which hardens or sets by heat, chemical or radiation cross-linking techniques and which, once set, cannot be resoftened by heating.

Tight Tube Cable
A cable in which optical fibers(s) are tightly contained.

Tinned Copper

Transmission Line
A signal-carrying circuit with controlled electrical characteristics used to transmit high frequency or narrow-pulse signals.

Transmission Loss
The decrease of loss in power during transmission of energy from one point to another. Usually expressed in decibels.

The electronic unit that converts an optical signal.

A cable tray system is a unit or assembly of units or sections, and associated fittings, made of non-combustible materials forming a rigid structural system used to support cables. Cable stray systems (previously termed continuous rigid cable supports)

Tray cable
A factory-assembled multiconductor or multipair control, signal or power cable specifically approved under the Nation Electrical Code for installation in trays.

Triaxial Cable
A cable construction having three coincident axes, such as conductor, first shield and second shields all insulated from one another.

Triple (Triad)
A cable consisting of three insulated single conductors twisted together.

A tube of extruded no-supported plastic or metallic material.

Synonymous with pairing.

The number of turns about its axis per unit of length of a yarn or other textile strand. Twist may be expressed as turns per inch (TPI), or turns per centimeter (TCPM).

Twist multiplier
The ratio of turns per inch to the square root of the cotton count.

Twist, Direction of
The direction of twist in yarns and other textile strands as indicated by the S&Z. Yarn has S twist if, when it is held vertically, the spirals around its central axis slope in the same direction as the meddle portion of the letter S, and Z twist if th

Twisted Pair
A twisted pair is composed of two small separately insulated wires twisted together without a common covering.

Thermoplastic Underground feeder and branch circuit cable.

Abbreviation for Ultra High Frequency, 300 to 3,000MHz.

Abbreviation for Underwriters Laboratories, a non-profit independent organization, which operates a listing service for electrical and electronic materials and equipment.

Unbalanced Circuit
A transmission line in which voltages on the two conductors are unequal with respect to the ground; e.g. a coaxial cable.


Upper limit temperature
The upper limit temperature is the maximum permissible temperature, at which a Heavy Duty connector can still be operated, due to the heating up of the contacts by the ambient temperature or other environmental conditions.


Velocity of Propagation

Abbreviation for Very High Frequency, 30 to 300 MHz.

Video Pair Cable
A transmission cable containing low-loss pairs with impedance of 125 ohms. Used to TV pick-ups, closed circuit TV, telephone carrier circuits, etc.

DuPont Trademark for a series of fluroelastomers based on the copolymer of unylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene.

A unit of electrical pressure. One volt is the amount of pressure that will cause one ampere of current in one ohm of resistance.

The term most often used in place of electromotive force, potential, potential difference, or voltage drop to designate the electric pressure that exists between two points and is capable of producing a current when a closed circuit is connected between

Voltage Rating
The highest voltage that may be continuously applied to a wire in conformance with standards or specifications.

Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)
The ratio of the maximum effective voltage to the min8imum effective voltage measured along the length of a mismatched radio frequency transmission line.

Volume Resistivity
The electrical resistance between opposite faces of a one-cm. cube of insulating material, commonly expressed on ohms-centimeter.

An irreversible process during which a rubber or polymeric compound through a change in its chemical structure (for example, cross-linking) becomes a thermoset.


Wall Thickness
The thickness of the applied insulation or jacket.

The set of yarn in all woven fabrics that runs lengthwise and parallel to the selvage and is interwoven with the filling.

Water Absorption
Water by percent weight absorbed by a material after a given immersion period.



The longitudinal flow of a liquid in a wire or cable due to capillary action.

A slender rod or filament of drawn metal.

Abbreviation for cross-linked polyethylene.

Yield Strength
The minimum stress at which a material will start to physically deform.

DuPont's trade name for nylon resins.

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