Federal Aeronautics Administration

The ratio of the voltage of wire for cable insulation is tested to that which is used.

Unit of Capacitance. For wire and cable a lesser unit of picofarads is used. One picofarad is one thousand millionths of a Farad.

Resistance to metal crystallization which causes conductors or wires to break from flexing.

The current that flows as a result of a short-circuit condition.

Fluorinated ethylene-propylene. A thermoplastic with excellent dielectric properties as well as chemical and head resistance.

A thread or thread-like structure. Also, a single discrete element used to transmit optical (light wave) information.

A lightwave or optical communications system in which electrical information is converted to light energy transmitted to another location through optical fibers and there is converted back into electrical information.

An area of influence around a magnet or electric charge.

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

A thin, plastic sheet.

Stranded wire with component strands of 36 AWG or smaller.

A conductor used in lighting fixtures or similar equipment and used to connect a lighting fixture to branch circuit conductors. Common types include Type TF (thermoplastic insulated, solid or 7 strand conductor) and Type TFN (thermoplastic-insulated, nylon jacket, solid or 7-strand conductor).

Ability of the material to extinguish flame once the source of heat is removed.

A chemical added to insulation materials to make them less combustible, such as antimony trioxide (PVC) or alumina trihydrate or carbon black (XLPE). Also used to describe flame resistance.

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

A woven braid which is rolled flat at time of manufacture to a specific width depending upon construction. It is used as a ground strap.

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

The number of cycles that a cable can withstand before failure when bent around a specific radius.

the ease with which a cable may be bent.

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

High-temperature pastics with excellent electrical properties. New England Wire Technologies most frequently uses ETFE, FEP and PFA.

Using highly controlled extrusion processes, materials are foamed resulting in a significantly reduced dielectric constant (1.45 – 1.8) that approaches the nearly ideal properties of air without sacrificing structural integrity.

Resins in flexible or rigid sponge formed with the cells closed or interconnected. Foamed insulations provide low dielectric contestants and weight savings.

A thin, continuous sheet of metal.

Feet Per Minute

A flammability rating established by Underwriters Laboratories for wire and cable that pass a specially-designed vertical flame test.

In ac systems, the rate at which the current changes direction, expressed in hertz (cycles per second).

The ability of a conductor or cable assembly to resist physical or electrical degradation caused by fungus growth in wet or damp environments.

Wire made from an alloy that melts at a relatively low temperature.

A metallic coating which has been melted and solidified, forming a metallurgical bond to the base material.

Individual strands of heavy tinned copper wire stranded together and then bonded together by induction heating.