Attività

Auto Cable, in electrical and electronic systems, a conductor or group of conductors for transmitting electric power or telecommunication signals from one place to another. Electric communication cables transmit voice messages, computer data, and visual images via electrical signals to telephones, wired radios, computers, teleprinters, facsimile machines, and televisions. There is no clear distinction between an electric wire and an electric cable. Usually the former refers to a single, solid metallic conductor, with or without insulation, while the latter refers to a stranded conductor or to an assembly of insulated conductors. With fibre-optic cables, made of flexible fibres of glass and plastic, electrical signals are converted to light pulses for the transmission of audio, video, and computer data.

Electric power cables
Aerial and underground power cables compose a major portion of the electrical circuit from the generator to the point of utilization of the electric power. The balance of the circuit (and sometimes the entire circuit) may, however, require specialized cables. Illustrative of these usages and of the special conditions to be met are cables for use in steel mills and boiler rooms (high temperature), on mobile equipment (vibration and excessive flexing), in chemical plants (corrosion), for submarines and mines (mechanical abuse), near nuclear reactors (high radiation), and on artificial satellites (pressure extremes).

Electric telecommunication cables

Electric cables used to transmit information are quite different from power cables, both in function and in design. Power cables are designed for high voltages and high current loads, whereas both voltage and current in a communication cable are small.
Protective coverings for electric communication cables are similar to those for electric power cables. They usually consist of an aluminum or lead-alloy tube or of a combination of metallic strips and thermoplastic materials. The insulation of a telephone cable is composed of dry cellulose (in the form of paper tape wrapped around the conductor or paper pulp applied to the conductor) or of polyethylene. The insulation thickness is a few hundredths of an inch or less. A coaxial cable, which first gained widespread use during World War II, is a two-conductor cable in which one of the conductors takes the form of a tube while the other (smaller but also circular in cross section) is supported, with a minimum of solid insulation, at the centre of the tube. Several of these coaxial units may be assembled within a common jacket, or sheath.