What is Electrical Wire?

Electrical wire is nothing more than a conductor to carry electrons from a power source to a load, where it will be used. In order to fully understand the application that electrical wiring has, you must first understand what electricity is.

Electricity is the flow of electrons along a path. The electrons naturally exist in a spin state around the atom that they occupy. In order for the electron to be removed from the atomic structure there has to be a force exuded upon the atom. Most commonly this is through the use of a magnetic field but friction is also used as well. For instance, when you rub a balloon on your head for a period of time, you will notice that the balloon begins to stick to your hair. What is happening is that the friction between your hair and the balloon has dislodged electrons and they are moving from one point (the balloon) to another point (your hair), this induces an attraction between the two and they stick together.

Aside from rubbing balloons on your hair, there are more practical applications for electricity and its transmission. Imagine electrical flow like water through a pipe, as it flows through the pipe, how fast is flows is dependent upon how wide the pipe is. Electricity flows the same way, but rather than varying the size of the pipe as in the case of water, the resistance is varied in the circuit. As the resistance increases in the circuit, the force of the electricity, or amperes, increase as well. Also imagine that just as the flow of water through a pipe and electricity through a wire, if the pipe or wire is not rated to handle that kind of pressure, or amps, then the pipe would burst or the wire would melt. This is where wire ratings become a significant factor.

If you decide to go to a electronics store to purchase wiring it is imperative that you know what kind of electrical current you will be working with. The more force or current flowing through the wire, the greater in rating the wire needs to be. The specific ratings can be found by simply looking at the ratings on the wire (the are printed on the side) or by looking up the American Wire Guide ratings list. The ratings of the wiring increase backwards based on the load capacity of the wire. So for example, a size 32 wire is only .008 inches in width and can only carry .53 amperes, while a size 00 is .36 inches in size and can carry up to 283 amperes.

Electrical wiring color codes vary based upon what country you live in, since I reside in the US I will used those set forth from the National Electric Code or NEC. Each color sheath on a electrical wire has a specific function. The reason they have a color code is to make all electrical wires homogeneous and universal. First we will discuss what a live wire is. As safety note, whenever you work with electricity make sure the power has been disconnected and you are wearing all proper protective equipment. A live wire is a wire that carries the electrical current to the load, so it has the capacity to severely injure you. According to NEC rules all live wires will either be red, black or blue. If you have significantly higher voltage wiring the live wires may be brown, orange or yellow. The neutral wire, or wire that allows the circuit to be complete is always white. Safety note: Although not live, the neutral wire has the capacity to complete the circuit if you are touching it, always verify that there is no power present when conducting electrical work. Lastly, the ground wire or protective earth wire will be green or bare copper wire. If it is an isolated ground wire it will be green with yellow stripes. The ground wire is the discharge wire, it is not live, but again always make sure power is removed before conducting any electrical work.

Like all things electricity has the capacity to perform an amazing amount of work, but if used improperly or without the correct wiring it can cause property damage or even be fatal. So I caution anyone who is going to conduct electrical work to do your research and if possible hire a certified electrician in your area.