CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Wire - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"5858be9c-daee-45e2-944e-3ad8934d7a95","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Wire","wgTitle":"Wire","wgCurRevisionId":1273433012,"wgRevisionId":1273433012,"wgArticleId":33498,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference","Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica","Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Use dmy dates from November 2019","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022","1911 Britannica articles needing updates from August 2020","Wire","Hardware (mechanical)"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Wire","wgRelevantArticleId":33498,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":20000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q551997","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false}; RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.20"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/1200px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1363"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/800px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="909"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/640px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="727"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Wire - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Wire rootpage-Wire skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" title="Main menu" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="n-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages"><span>Special pages</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Wire" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Wire" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Wire" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Wire" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Production" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Production"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Production</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Production-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Forms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Forms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Forms</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Forms-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Forms subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Forms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Solid" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Solid"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Solid</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Solid-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Stranded" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Stranded"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Stranded</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Stranded-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Braided" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Braided"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Braided</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Braided-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Uses" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Uses"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Uses</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Uses-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Wire</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 72 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-72" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">72 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draad" title="Draad – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Draad" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%83" title="سلك – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="سلك" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filo_d%27arambre" title="Filo d'arambre – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Filo d'arambre" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-roa-rup mw-list-item"><a href="https://roa-rup.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirm%C3%A2" title="Sirmâ – Aromanian" lang="rup" hreflang="rup" data-title="Sirmâ" data-language-autonym="Armãneashti" data-language-local-name="Aromanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Armãneashti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alambre" title="Alambre – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Alambre" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C9%99ftil" title="Məftil – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Məftil" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0" title="তার – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="তার" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82" title="Дрот – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Дрот" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82" title="Дрот – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Дрот" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0" title="Жица – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Жица" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orjal" title="Orjal – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Orjal" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil_met%C3%A0l%C2%B7lic" title="Fil metàl·lic – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Fil metàl·lic" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cv mw-list-item"><a href="https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%BA" title="Пралук – Chuvash" lang="cv" hreflang="cv" data-title="Пралук" data-language-autonym="Чӑвашла" data-language-local-name="Chuvash" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Чӑвашла</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%A1t" title="Drát – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Drát" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sn mw-list-item"><a href="https://sn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waya" title="Waya – Shona" lang="sn" hreflang="sn" data-title="Waya" data-language-autonym="ChiShona" data-language-local-name="Shona" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ChiShona</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal-wire" title="Metal-wire – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Metal-wire" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draht" title="Draht – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Draht" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traat" title="Traat – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Traat" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alambre" title="Alambre – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Alambre" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drato" title="Drato – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Drato" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanbre" title="Alanbre – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Alanbre" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%85" title="سیم – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="سیم" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil_m%C3%A9tallique" title="Fil métallique – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Fil métallique" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gd mw-list-item"><a href="https://gd.wikipedia.org/wiki/U%C3%A8ir" title="Uèir – Scottish Gaelic" lang="gd" hreflang="gd" data-title="Uèir" data-language-autonym="Gàidhlig" data-language-local-name="Scottish Gaelic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gàidhlig</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arame" title="Arame – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Arame" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-inh mw-list-item"><a href="https://inh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%8C%D1%85%D0%B0%D1%88%D1%85%D0%B0" title="Маьхашха – Ingush" lang="inh" hreflang="inh" data-title="Маьхашха" data-language-autonym="ГӀалгӀай" data-language-local-name="Ingush" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ГӀалгӀай</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%B2%A0%EC%82%AC" title="철사 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="철사" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0" title="तार – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="तार" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDica" title="Žica – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Žica" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawat" title="Kawat – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Kawat" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filo" title="Filo – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Filo" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%9C" title="תיל – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="תיל" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-jv mw-list-item"><a href="https://jv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawat" title="Kawat – Javanese" lang="jv" hreflang="jv" data-title="Kawat" data-language-autonym="Jawa" data-language-local-name="Javanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Jawa</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kn mw-list-item"><a href="https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%A4%E0%B2%82%E0%B2%A4%E0%B2%BF" title="ತಂತಿ – Kannada" lang="kn" hreflang="kn" data-title="ತಂತಿ" data-language-autonym="ಕನ್ನಡ" data-language-local-name="Kannada" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ಕನ್ನಡ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%8B%D0%BC" title="Сым – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Сым" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waya" title="Waya – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Waya" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ht mw-list-item"><a href="https://ht.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil" title="Fil – Haitian Creole" lang="ht" hreflang="ht" data-title="Fil" data-language-autonym="Kreyòl ayisyen" data-language-local-name="Haitian Creole" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kreyòl ayisyen</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ky mw-list-item"><a href="https://ky.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D1%8B%D0%BC" title="Зым – Kyrgyz" lang="ky" hreflang="ky" data-title="Зым" data-language-autonym="Кыргызча" data-language-local-name="Kyrgyz" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Кыргызча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadi" title="Vadi – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Vadi" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viela" title="Viela – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Viela" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huzal" title="Huzal – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Huzal" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayar" title="Wayar – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Wayar" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-min mw-list-item"><a href="https://min.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawek" title="Kawek – Minangkabau" lang="min" hreflang="min" data-title="Kawek" data-language-autonym="Minangkabau" data-language-local-name="Minangkabau" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Minangkabau</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%9D%E9%87%91" title="針金 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="針金" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A5ltr%C3%A5d" title="Ståltråd – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Ståltråd" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_(fial_de_f%C3%A8rre)" title="Aram (fial de fèrre) – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Aram (fial de fèrre)" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Occitan</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim" title="Sim – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Sim" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pa mw-list-item"><a href="https://pa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A8%A4%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B0" title="ਤਾਰ – Punjabi" lang="pa" hreflang="pa" data-title="ਤਾਰ" data-language-autonym="ਪੰਜਾਬੀ" data-language-local-name="Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ਪੰਜਾਬੀ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drut" title="Drut – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Drut" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arame" title="Arame – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Arame" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A2rm%C4%83" title="Sârmă – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Sârmă" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B0" title="Проволока – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Проволока" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teli" title="Teli – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Teli" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire" title="Wire – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Wire" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%B4t" title="Drôt – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Drôt" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDica" title="Žica – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Žica" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-so mw-list-item"><a href="https://so.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xadhig_(bir)" title="Xadhig (bir) – Somali" lang="so" hreflang="so" data-title="Xadhig (bir)" data-language-autonym="Soomaaliga" data-language-local-name="Somali" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Soomaaliga</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%DB%95%D9%84" title="تەل – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="تەل" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0" title="Жица – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Жица" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDica" title="Žica – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Žica" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-su mw-list-item"><a href="https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawat" title="Kawat – Sundanese" lang="su" hreflang="su" data-title="Kawat" data-language-autonym="Sunda" data-language-local-name="Sundanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sunda</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A5ltr%C3%A5d" title="Ståltråd – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Ståltråd" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tl mw-list-item"><a href="https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawad" title="Kawad – Tagalog" lang="tl" hreflang="tl" data-title="Kawad" data-language-autonym="Tagalog" data-language-local-name="Tagalog" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tagalog</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BF" title="மின்கம்பி – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="மின்கம்பி" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-te mw-list-item"><a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%B5%E0%B1%88%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%81" title="వైరు – Telugu" lang="te" hreflang="te" data-title="వైరు" data-language-autonym="తెలుగు" data-language-local-name="Telugu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>తెలుగు</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel" title="Tel – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Tel" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D1%96%D1%82" title="Дріт – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Дріт" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A2y_%C4%91i%E1%BB%87n" title="Dây điện – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Dây điện" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%91%E5%B1%9E%E7%BA%BF" title="金属线 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="金属线" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>吴语</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-yi mw-list-item"><a href="https://yi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%98" title="דראט – Yiddish" lang="yi" hreflang="yi" data-title="דראט" data-language-autonym="ייִדיש" data-language-local-name="Yiddish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ייִדיש</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%BB%E7%BA%9C" title="電纜 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="電纜" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%91%E5%B1%AC%E7%B7%9A" title="金屬線 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="金屬線" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q551997#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wire" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Wire" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wire"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wire"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Wire" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Wire" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&oldid=1273433012" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Wire&id=1273433012&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWire"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWire"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Wire&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wire" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q551997" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or bar or rod of metal</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Wire_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Wire (disambiguation)">Wire (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_(pylon)_line.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/220px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="250" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/330px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg/440px-Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1440" data-file-height="1636" /></a><figcaption>Overhead <a href="/wiki/Power_cabling" class="mw-redirect" title="Power cabling">power cabling</a>. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm</figcaption></figure> <p>A <b>wire</b> is a flexible, round bar of <a href="/wiki/Metal" title="Metal">metal</a>. Wires are commonly formed by <a href="/wiki/Drawing_(manufacturing)" title="Drawing (manufacturing)">drawing</a> the metal through a hole in a <a href="/wiki/Die_(manufacturing)" title="Die (manufacturing)">die</a> or <a href="/wiki/Draw_plate" title="Draw plate">draw plate</a>. <a href="/wiki/Wire_gauge" title="Wire gauge">Wire gauges</a> come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a <a href="/wiki/American_wire_gauge" title="American wire gauge">gauge number</a> or <a href="/wiki/IEC_60228" title="IEC 60228">cross-sectional area</a>. </p><p>Wires are used to bear mechanical <a href="/wiki/Structural_load" title="Structural load">loads</a>, often in the form of <a href="/wiki/Wire_rope" title="Wire rope">wire rope</a>. In <a href="/wiki/Electricity" title="Electricity">electricity</a> and <a href="/wiki/Signal_(electronics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Signal (electronics)">telecommunications signals</a>, <i>wire</i> can refer to <a href="/wiki/Electrical_cable" title="Electrical cable">electrical cable</a>, which can contain a solid core of a single wire or separate strands in stranded or braided forms. </p><p>Usually <a href="/wiki/Cylinder_(geometry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Cylinder (geometry)">cylindrical</a> in geometry, wire can also be made in square, hexagonal, flattened rectangular, or other cross-sections, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency <a href="/wiki/Voice_coil" title="Voice coil">voice coils</a> in <a href="/wiki/Loudspeaker" title="Loudspeaker">loudspeakers</a>. Edge-wound <a href="/wiki/Coil_spring" title="Coil spring">coil springs</a>, such as the <a href="/wiki/Slinky" title="Slinky">Slinky</a> toy, are made of special flattened wire.<sup id="cite_ref-SwigerCoil_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SwigerCoil-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG/250px-Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG" decoding="async" width="170" height="238" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG/330px-Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG/500px-Wire_wrapped_jewelry.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1354" data-file-height="1893" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Wire_wrapped_jewelry" title="Wire wrapped jewelry">Wire wrapped jewelry</a></figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Ancient_technology" title="Ancient technology">antiquity</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jewelry" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewelry">jewelry</a> often contained large amounts of wire in the form of chains and applied decoration that was accurately made and which must have been produced by some efficient, if not technically advanced, means. In some cases, strips cut from metal sheet were made into wire by pulling them through perforations in stone beads. This causes the strips to fold round on themselves to form thin tubes. This strip drawing technique was in use in <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> by the <a href="/wiki/2nd_Dynasty" class="mw-redirect" title="2nd Dynasty">2nd Dynasty</a> (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 2890</span> – c.<span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 2686 <a href="/wiki/BCE" class="mw-redirect" title="BCE">BCE</a></span><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>). From the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE most of the <a href="/wiki/Gold" title="Gold">gold</a> wires in <a href="/wiki/Jewellery" title="Jewellery">jewelry</a> are characterized by seam lines that follow a spiral path along the wire. Such twisted strips can be converted into solid round wires by rolling them between flat surfaces or the strip wire drawing method. The strip twist wire manufacturing method was superseded by <a href="/wiki/Wire_drawing" title="Wire drawing">drawing</a> in the ancient <a href="/wiki/Old_World" title="Old World">Old World</a> sometime between about the 8th and 10th centuries AD.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> There is some evidence for the use of drawing further East prior to this period.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Square and hexagonal wires were possibly made using a <a href="/wiki/Swaging" title="Swaging">swaging</a> technique. In this method a metal rod was struck between grooved metal blocks, or between a grooved punch and a grooved metal <a href="/wiki/Anvil" title="Anvil">anvil</a>. Swaging is of great antiquity, possibly dating to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE in Egypt and in the <a href="/wiki/Bronze_Age" title="Bronze Age">Bronze</a> and <a href="/wiki/Iron_Age" title="Iron Age">Iron Ages</a> in Europe for <a href="/wiki/Torc" title="Torc">torcs</a> and <a href="/wiki/Fibula_(brooch)" title="Fibula (brooch)">fibulae</a>. Twisted square-section wires are a very common <a href="/wiki/Filigree" title="Filigree">filigree</a> decoration in early <a href="/wiki/Etruscan_civilisation" class="mw-redirect" title="Etruscan civilisation">Etruscan</a> jewelry. </p><p>In about the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, a new category of decorative tube was introduced which imitated a line of granules. True beaded wire, produced by mechanically distorting a round-section wire, appeared in the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Mediterranean" title="Eastern Mediterranean">Eastern Mediterranean</a> and Italy in the seventh century BCE, perhaps disseminated by the <a href="/wiki/Phoenicia" title="Phoenicia">Phoenicians</a>. Beaded wire continued to be used in jewellery into modern times, although it largely fell out of favour in about the tenth century CE when two drawn round wires, twisted together to form what are termed 'ropes', provided a simpler-to-make alternative. A forerunner to beaded wire may be the notched strips and wires which first occur from around 2000 BCE in <a href="/wiki/Anatolia" title="Anatolia">Anatolia</a>. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_(side_view).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg/220px-Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="161" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg/330px-Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg/440px-Sophie_Ryder%27s_%22Sitting%22_%28side_view%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3568" data-file-height="2616" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Sophie_Ryder" title="Sophie Ryder">Sophie Ryder</a>'s galvanised wire sculpture <i>Sitting</i> at the <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire_Sculpture_Park" title="Yorkshire Sculpture Park">Yorkshire Sculpture Park</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Wire was <a href="/wiki/Wire_drawing" title="Wire drawing">drawn</a> in England from the medieval period. The wire was used to make <a href="/wiki/Carding" title="Carding">wool cards</a> and pins, manufactured goods whose import was prohibited by <a href="/wiki/Edward_IV" title="Edward IV">Edward IV</a> in 1463.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The first wire mill in <a href="/wiki/Great_Britain" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a> was established at <a href="/wiki/Tintern" title="Tintern">Tintern</a> in about 1568 by the founders of the <a href="/wiki/Company_of_Mineral_and_Battery_Works" title="Company of Mineral and Battery Works">Company of Mineral and Battery Works</a>, who had a <a href="/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">monopoly</a> on this.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Apart from their second wire mill at nearby Whitebrook,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> there were no other wire mills before the second half of the 17th century. Despite the existence of mills, the drawing of wire down to fine sizes continued to be done manually. </p><p>According to a description in the early 20th century, "[w]ire is usually drawn of cylindrical form; but it may be made of any desired section by varying the outline of the holes in the draw-plate through which it is passed in the process of manufacture. The <a href="/wiki/Draw_plate" title="Draw plate">draw-plate</a> or <a href="/wiki/Die_(manufacturing)" title="Die (manufacturing)">die</a> is a piece of hard cast-iron or hard steel, or for fine work it may be a <a href="/wiki/Diamond" title="Diamond">diamond</a> or a <a href="/wiki/Ruby" title="Ruby">ruby</a>. The object of utilising precious stones is to enable the dies to be used for a considerable period without losing their size, and so producing wire of incorrect diameter. Diamond dies must be re-bored when they have lost their original diameter of hole, but metal dies are brought down to size again by hammering up the hole and then drifting it out to correct diameter with a punch."<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Production">Production</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Production"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Wire_drawing" title="Wire drawing">Wire drawing</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Wiredrawing.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Wiredrawing.svg/220px-Wiredrawing.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="152" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Wiredrawing.svg/330px-Wiredrawing.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Wiredrawing.svg/440px-Wiredrawing.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="280" data-file-height="193" /></a><figcaption>Wire drawing concept</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:RG-59.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/RG-59.jpg/220px-RG-59.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="154" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/RG-59.jpg/330px-RG-59.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/RG-59.jpg/440px-RG-59.jpg 2x" data-file-width="705" data-file-height="493" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">Coaxial cable</a>, one example of a jacketed and insulated wire</figcaption></figure> <p>Wire is often reduced to the desired diameter and properties by repeated <a href="/wiki/Wire_drawing" title="Wire drawing">drawing</a> through progressively smaller dies, or traditionally holes in <a href="/wiki/Draw_plate" title="Draw plate">draw plates</a>. After a number of passes the wire may be <a href="/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Annealing (metallurgy)">annealed</a> to facilitate more drawing or, if it is a finished product, to maximise ductility and <a href="/wiki/Electrical_conductivity" class="mw-redirect" title="Electrical conductivity">conductivity</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Electrical_wire" class="mw-redirect" title="Electrical wire">Electrical wires</a> are usually covered with <a href="/wiki/Insulation_(electric)" class="mw-redirect" title="Insulation (electric)">insulating materials</a>, such as plastic, rubber-like polymers, or varnish. Insulating and jacketing of wires and cables is nowadays done by passing them through an extruder. Formerly, materials used for insulation included treated cloth or paper and various oil-based products. Since the mid-1960s, plastic and <a href="/wiki/Polymer" title="Polymer">polymers</a> exhibiting properties similar to rubber have predominated. </p><p>Two or more wires may be wrapped concentrically, separated by insulation, to form <a href="/wiki/Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">coaxial cable</a>. The wire or cable may be further protected with substances like <a href="/wiki/Paraffin_wax" title="Paraffin wax">paraffin</a>, some kind of preservative compound, bitumen, <a href="/wiki/Lead" title="Lead">lead</a>, aluminum sheathing, or steel taping. Stranding or covering machines wind material onto wire which passes through quickly. Some of the smallest machines for cotton covering have a large drum, which grips the wire and moves it through toothed gears; the wire passes through the centre of disks mounted above a long bed, and the disks carry each a number of <a href="/wiki/Bobbin" title="Bobbin">bobbins</a> varying from six to twelve or more in different machines. A supply of covering material is wound on each bobbin, and the end is led on to the wire, which occupies a central position relatively to the bobbins; the latter being revolved at a suitable speed bodily with their disks, the cotton is consequently served on to the wire, winding in spiral fashion so as to overlap. If many strands are required the disks are duplicated, so that as many as sixty spools may be carried, the second set of strands being laid over the first.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>For heavier cables that are used for <a href="/wiki/Electric_light" title="Electric light">electric light</a> and power as well as submarine cables, the machines are somewhat different in construction. The wire is still carried through a hollow shaft, but the bobbins or spools of covering material are set with their spindles at right angles to the axis of the wire, and they lie in a circular cage which rotates on rollers below. The various strands coming from the spools at various parts of the circumference of the cage all lead to a disk at the end of the hollow shaft. This disk has perforations through which each of the strands pass, thence being immediately wrapped on the cable, which slides through a bearing at this point. Toothed gears having certain definite ratios are used to cause the winding drum for the cable and the cage for the spools to rotate at suitable relative speeds which do not vary. The cages are multiplied for stranding with many tapes or strands, so that a machine may have six bobbins on one cage and twelve on the other.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Forms">Forms</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Forms"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable#Types_of_copper_wire_and_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">Copper wire and cable § Types of copper wire and cable</a></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Solid_versus_stranded"></span> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Solid">Solid</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Solid"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Solid wire, also called solid-core or single-strand wire, consists of one piece of metal wire. Solid wire is useful for wiring breadboards. Solid wire is cheaper to manufacture than stranded wire and is used where there is little need for flexibility in the wire. Solid wire also provides mechanical ruggedness; and, because it has relatively less surface area which is exposed to attack by corrosives, protection against the environment. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Stranded">Stranded</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Stranded"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg/250px-Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg/330px-Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg/500px-Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg 2x" data-file-width="661" data-file-height="664" /></a><figcaption>Stranded <a href="/wiki/Copper" title="Copper">copper</a> wire</figcaption></figure> <p>Stranded wire is composed of a number of small wires bundled or wrapped together to form a larger conductor. Stranded wire is more flexible than solid wire of the same total cross-sectional area. Stranded wire is used when higher resistance to <a href="/wiki/Metal_fatigue" class="mw-redirect" title="Metal fatigue">metal fatigue</a> is required. Such situations include connections between <a href="/wiki/Printed_circuit_board" title="Printed circuit board">circuit boards</a> in multi-printed-circuit-board devices, where the rigidity of solid wire would produce too much stress as a result of movement during assembly or servicing; <a href="/wiki/Alternating_current" title="Alternating current">A.C.</a> line cords for appliances; musical instrument cables; <a href="/wiki/Computer_mouse" title="Computer mouse">computer mouse</a> cables; welding electrode cables; control cables connecting moving machine parts; mining machine cables; trailing machine cables; and numerous others. At high frequencies, current travels near the surface of the wire because of the <i><a href="/wiki/Skin_effect" title="Skin effect">skin effect</a></i>, resulting in increased power loss in the wire. Stranded wire might seem to reduce this effect, since the total surface area of the strands is greater than the surface area of the equivalent solid wire, but ordinary stranded wire does not reduce the skin effect because all the strands are short-circuited together and behave as a single conductor. A stranded wire will have higher resistance than a solid wire of the same diameter because the cross-section of the stranded wire is not all copper; there are unavoidable gaps between the strands (this is the <a href="/wiki/Circle_packing" title="Circle packing">circle packing</a> problem for <a href="/wiki/Packing_problem#Circles_in_circle" class="mw-redirect" title="Packing problem">circles within a circle</a>). A stranded wire with the same cross-section of conductor as a solid wire is said to have the same <a href="/wiki/American_wire_gauge#Tables_of_AWG_wire_sizes" title="American wire gauge">equivalent gauge</a> and is always a larger diameter. However, for many high-frequency applications, <i><a href="/wiki/Proximity_effect_(electromagnetism)" title="Proximity effect (electromagnetism)">proximity effect</a></i> is more severe than skin effect, and in some limited cases, simple stranded wire can reduce proximity effect. For better performance at high frequencies, <a href="/wiki/Litz_wire" title="Litz wire">litz wire</a>, which has the individual strands insulated and twisted in special patterns, may be used. </p><p>The more individual wire strands in a wire bundle, the more flexible, kink-resistant, break-resistant, and stronger the wire becomes. However, more strands increases manufacturing complexity and cost. For <a href="/wiki/Circle_packing" title="Circle packing">geometrical reasons</a>, the lowest number of strands usually seen is 7: one in the middle, with 6 surrounding it in close contact. The next level up is 19, which is another layer of 12 strands on top of the 7. After that the number varies, but 37 and 49 are common, then in the 70 to 100 range (the number is no longer exact). Larger numbers than that are typically found only in very large cables. For application where the wire moves, 19 is the lowest that should be used (7 should only be used in applications where the wire is placed and then does not move), and 49 is much better. For applications with constant repeated movement, such as assembly robots and <a href="/wiki/Headphone" class="mw-redirect" title="Headphone">headphone</a> wires, 70 to 100 is mandatory <sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2022)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>. For applications that need even more flexibility, even more strands are used (welding cables are the usual example, but also any application that needs to move wire in tight areas). One example is a 2/0 wire made from 5,292 strands of <a href="/wiki/No._36_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="No. 36 gauge">No. 36 gauge</a> wire. The strands are organized by first creating a bundle of 7 strands. Then 7 of these bundles are put together into super bundles. Finally 108 super bundles are used to make the final cable. Each group of wires is wound in a helix so that when the wire is flexed, the part of a bundle that is stretched moves around the helix to a part that is compressed to allow the wire to have less stress. </p><p>Prefused wire is stranded wire made up of strands that are heavily <a href="/wiki/Tinned" class="mw-redirect" title="Tinned">tinned</a>, then fused together. Prefused wire has many of the properties of solid wire, except it is less likely to break.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Braided">Braided</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Braided"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A braided wire consists of a number of small strands of wire braided together.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Braided wires do not break easily when flexed. Braided wires are often suitable as an electromagnetic shield in noise-reduction cables. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg/220px-Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="111" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg/330px-Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg/440px-Coaxial_cable_braided_wire.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3889" data-file-height="1965" /></a><figcaption>The outer conductor of this miniature coaxial cable (RG 58 type) is made of braided wire. Heavier braided cables are used for electrical connections that need a degree of flexibility, for example, connections to bus bars.</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Uses">Uses</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Uses"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">Copper wire and cable</a></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Update-EB plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Ambox_outdated_content.svg/40px-Ambox_outdated_content.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Ambox_outdated_content.svg/60px-Ambox_outdated_content.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Ambox_outdated_content.svg/80px-Ambox_outdated_content.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="620" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright <a href="/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition" title="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition"><i>Encyclopædia Britannica</i> Eleventh Edition</a>, which was produced in 1911.</b><span class="hide-when-compact"> It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">August 2020</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Piano_string_detail2.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Piano_string_detail2.JPG/250px-Piano_string_detail2.JPG" decoding="async" width="170" height="227" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Piano_string_detail2.JPG/330px-Piano_string_detail2.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Piano_string_detail2.JPG/500px-Piano_string_detail2.JPG 2x" data-file-width="960" data-file-height="1280" /></a><figcaption>Close-up of strings of <a href="/wiki/Piano_wire" title="Piano wire">piano wire</a> shows "overspun" <a href="/wiki/Helix" title="Helix">helical</a> wire wrapping added to main carrier wires.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg/250px-Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg/330px-Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg/500px-Wire-bonded_Germanium_Diode.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1770" data-file-height="1017" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Germanium_diode" class="mw-redirect" title="Germanium diode">Germanium diode</a> bonded with gold wire</figcaption></figure> <p>Wire has many uses. It forms the raw material of many important <a href="/wiki/Manufacturing" title="Manufacturing">manufacturers</a>, such as the <a href="/wiki/Wire_netting" class="mw-redirect" title="Wire netting">wire netting</a> industry, engineered springs, <a href="/wiki/Lam%C3%A9_(fabric)" title="Lamé (fabric)">wire-cloth</a> making and <a href="/wiki/Wire_rope" title="Wire rope">wire rope</a> spinning, in which it occupies a place analogous to a <a href="/wiki/Textile" title="Textile">textile</a> <a href="/wiki/Fiber" title="Fiber">fiber</a>. Wire-cloth of all degrees of strength and fineness of mesh is used for sifting and screening machinery, for draining paper pulp, for window screens, and for many other purposes. Vast quantities of <a href="/wiki/Aluminum_wire" class="mw-redirect" title="Aluminum wire">aluminium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">copper</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nickel" title="Nickel">nickel</a> and <a href="/wiki/Steel" title="Steel">steel</a> wire are employed for telephone and <a href="/wiki/Data_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Data cable">data cables</a>, and as conductors in <a href="/wiki/Electric_power_transmission" title="Electric power transmission">electric power transmission</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Electrical_heating" class="mw-redirect" title="Electrical heating">heating</a>. It is in no less demand for fencing, and much is consumed in the construction of <a href="/wiki/Suspension_bridge" title="Suspension bridge">suspension bridges</a>, and cages, etc. In the manufacture of stringed musical instruments and scientific instruments, wire is again largely used. Carbon and stainless spring steel wire have significant applications in engineered springs for critical automotive or industrial manufactured parts/components. Pin and <a href="/wiki/Hairpin_(fashion)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hairpin (fashion)">hairpin</a> making; the needle and <a href="/wiki/Fish_hook" title="Fish hook">fish-hook</a> industries; nail, peg, and rivet making; and <a href="/wiki/Carding" title="Carding">carding</a> machinery consume large amounts of wire as feedstock.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_8-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Not all metals and metallic <a href="/wiki/Alloy" title="Alloy">alloys</a> possess the physical properties necessary to make useful wire. The metals must in the first place be <a href="/wiki/Ductile" class="mw-redirect" title="Ductile">ductile</a> and strong in tension, the quality on which the utility of wire principally depends. The principal metals suitable for wire, possessing almost equal ductility, are <a href="/wiki/Platinum" title="Platinum">platinum</a>, <a href="/wiki/Silver" title="Silver">silver</a>, <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">iron</a>, <a href="/wiki/Copper" title="Copper">copper</a>, aluminium, and <a href="/wiki/Gold" title="Gold">gold</a>; and it is only from these and certain of their <a href="/wiki/Alloy" title="Alloy">alloys</a> with other metals, principally <a href="/wiki/Brass" title="Brass">brass</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bronze" title="Bronze">bronze</a>, that wire is prepared.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_8-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By careful treatment, extremely thin wire can be produced. Special purpose wire is however made from other metals (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Tungsten" title="Tungsten">tungsten</a> wire for <a href="/wiki/Light_bulb" class="mw-redirect" title="Light bulb">light bulb</a> and <a href="/wiki/Vacuum_tube" title="Vacuum tube">vacuum tube</a> filaments, because of its high melting temperature). Copper wires are also plated with other metals, such as tin, nickel, and silver to handle different temperatures, provide lubrication, and provide easier stripping of rubber insulation from copper. </p><p>Metallic wires are often used for the lower-pitched sound-producing "strings" in <a href="/wiki/Stringed_instruments" class="mw-redirect" title="Stringed instruments">stringed instruments</a>, such as <a href="/wiki/Violin" title="Violin">violins</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cello" title="Cello">cellos</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Guitar" title="Guitar">guitars</a>, and percussive string instruments such as <a href="/wiki/Piano" title="Piano">pianos</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dulcimer" title="Dulcimer">dulcimers</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dobro" title="Dobro">dobros</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Cimbalom" title="Cimbalom">cimbaloms</a>. To increase the mass per unit length (and thus lower the pitch of the sound even further), the main wire may sometimes be <a href="/wiki/Helix" title="Helix">helically</a> wrapped with another, finer strand of wire. Such musical strings are said to be "overspun"; the added wire may be circular in cross-section ("round-wound"), or flattened before winding ("flat-wound"). </p><p>Examples include: </p> <ul><li><i>Hook-up wire</i> is small-to-medium gauge, solid or stranded, insulated wire,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> used for making internal connections inside electrical or electronic devices. It is often tin-plated to improve <a href="/wiki/Solderability" title="Solderability">solderability</a>.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Wire_bonding" title="Wire bonding">Wire bonding</a></i> is the application of microscopic wires for making electrical connections inside <a href="/wiki/Semiconductor" title="Semiconductor">semiconductor</a> components and integrated circuits.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Magnet_wire" title="Magnet wire">Magnet wire</a></i> is solid wire, usually <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">copper</a>, which, to allow closer winding when making <a href="/wiki/Electromagnetic_coil" title="Electromagnetic coil">electromagnetic coils</a>, is insulated only with varnish, rather than the thicker plastic or other insulation commonly used on electrical wire. It is used for the winding of <a href="/wiki/Electric_motor" title="Electric motor">motors</a>, <a href="/wiki/Transformer" title="Transformer">transformers</a>, <a href="/wiki/Inductor" title="Inductor">inductors</a>, <a href="/wiki/Electric_generator" title="Electric generator">generators</a>, <a href="/wiki/Loudspeaker" title="Loudspeaker">speaker</a> coils, <i>etc.</i> (<i>For further information about <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">copper magnet wire</a>, see: <a href="/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable#Magnet_wire_(Winding_wire)" class="mw-redirect" title="Copper wire and cable">Copper wire and cable#Magnet wire (Winding wire)</a>.</i>).</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">Coaxial cable</a></i> is a cable consisting of an inner conductor, surrounded by a tubular insulating layer typically made from a flexible material with a high dielectric constant, all of which is then surrounded by another conductive layer (typically of fine woven wire for flexibility, or of a thin metallic foil), and then finally covered again with a thin insulating layer on the outside. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis. Coaxial cables are often used as a transmission line for radio frequency signals. In a hypothetical ideal coaxial cable, the electromagnetic field carrying the signal exists only in the space between the inner and outer conductors. Practical cables achieve this objective to a high degree. A coaxial cable provides extra protection of signals from external electromagnetic interference and effectively guides signals with low emission along the length of the cable which in turn affects thermal heat inside the conductivity of the wire.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Speaker_wire" title="Speaker wire">Speaker wire</a></i> is used to make a low-resistance electrical connection between loudspeakers and audio amplifiers. Some high-end modern speaker wire consists of multiple electrical conductors individually insulated by plastic, similar to <a href="/wiki/Litz_wire" title="Litz wire">Litz wire</a>.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Resistance_wire" title="Resistance wire">Resistance wire</a></i> is wire with higher than normal resistivity, often used for <a href="/wiki/Heating_element" title="Heating element">heating elements</a> or for making wire-wound <a href="/wiki/Resistor" title="Resistor">resistors</a>. <a href="/wiki/Nichrome" title="Nichrome">Nichrome</a> wire is the most common type.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/High-voltage_cable" title="High-voltage cable">High-voltage cable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barbed_wire" title="Barbed wire">Barbed wire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicken_wire" title="Chicken wire">Chicken wire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Razor_wire" title="Razor wire">Razor wire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tinsel_wire" title="Tinsel wire">Tinsel wire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wollaston_wire" title="Wollaston wire">Wollaston wire</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-SwigerCoil-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-SwigerCoil_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFSwiger_Coil_Systems" class="citation web cs1">Swiger Coil Systems. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101219053052/http://swigercoil.com/edge-wound-Coils_edge-bent-coils.asp">"Edgewound Coils"</a>. Swiger Coil Systems, A Wabtec Company. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.swigercoil.com/edge-wound-Coils_edge-bent-coils.asp">the original</a> on 19 December 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 January</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Edgewound+Coils&rft.pub=Swiger+Coil+Systems%2C+A+Wabtec+Company&rft.au=Swiger+Coil+Systems&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swigercoil.com%2Fedge-wound-Coils_edge-bent-coils.asp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFShaw2000" class="citation book cs1">Shaw, Ian, ed. (2000). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/480"><i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i></a></span>. Oxford University Press. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/480">480</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-815034-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-19-815034-2"><bdi>0-19-815034-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Oxford+History+of+Ancient+Egypt&rft.pages=480&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0-19-815034-2&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Foxfordhisto00shaw%2Fpage%2F480&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jack Ogden, 'Classical Gold wire: Some Aspects of its Manufacture and Use', <i>Jewellery Studies</i>, 5, 1991, pp. 95–105.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jack Ogden, 'Connections between Islam, Europe, and the Far East in the Medieval Period: The Evidence of the Jewelry Technology'. Eds P. Jett, J Douglas, B. McCarthy, J Winter. <i>Scientific Research in the Field of Asian Art. Fiftieth-Anniversary Symposium Proceedings</i>. Archetype Publications, London in association with the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">H. R. Schubert, 'The wiredrawers of Bristol' <i>Journal Iron & Steel Institute</i> 159 (1948), 16-22.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">M. B. Donald, <i>Elizabethan Monopolies: Company of Mineral and Battery Works</i> (Olver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1961), 95-141.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">D. G. Tucker, 'The seventeenth century wireworks at Whitebrook, Monmouthshire' <i>Bull. Hist. Metall. Gp</i> 7(1) (1973), 28-35.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EB1911-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-EB1911_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB1911_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB1911_8-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB1911_8-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB1911_8-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="noprint"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/18px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/24px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></span></span> </span>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">public domain</a>: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFChisholm1911" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1"><a href="/wiki/Hugh_Chisholm" title="Hugh Chisholm">Chisholm, Hugh</a>, ed. (1911). "<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Wire" class="extiw" title="s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Wire">Wire</a>". <i><a href="/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition" title="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. <span class="nowrap">738–</span>739.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Wire&rft.btitle=Encyclop%C3%A6dia+Britannica&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E738-%3C%2Fspan%3E739&rft.edition=11th&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1911&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.iewc.com/resources/technical-guide/types-of-strand-construction">"Types of Strand Construction"</a>. Industrial Electric Wire & Cable. 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">8 February</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Types+of+Strand+Construction&rft.pub=Industrial+Electric+Wire+%26+Cable&rft.date=2019&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iewc.com%2Fresources%2Ftechnical-guide%2Ftypes-of-strand-construction&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFHogsettOehler2012" class="citation book cs1">Hogsett, Jamie; Oehler, Sara (2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=99W8BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12"><i>Show Your Colors: 30 Flexible Beading Wire Jewelry Projects</i></a>. Kalmbach Books. p. 12. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87116-755-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-87116-755-2"><bdi>978-0-87116-755-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Show+Your+Colors%3A+30+Flexible+Beading+Wire+Jewelry+Projects&rft.pages=12&rft.pub=Kalmbach+Books&rft.date=2012&rft.isbn=978-0-87116-755-2&rft.aulast=Hogsett&rft.aufirst=Jamie&rft.au=Oehler%2C+Sara&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D99W8BwAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA12&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://vashielectricals.com/c/wires-cables/">"Types of Wire"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">14 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Types+of+Wire&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fvashielectricals.com%2Fc%2Fwires-cables%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWire" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wire&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/16px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/24px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/32px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a></span> The dictionary definition of <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/wire" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:Special:Search/wire"><i>wire</i></a> at Wiktionary</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox855" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q551997#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/4150519-0">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00562979">Japan</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="dráty"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=ph214663&CON_LNG=ENG">Czech Republic</a></span></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987007558578205171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wire&oldid=1273433012">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wire&oldid=1273433012</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wire" title="Category:Wire">Wire</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Hardware_(mechanical)" title="Category:Hardware (mechanical)">Hardware (mechanical)</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_incorporating_a_citation_from_the_1911_Encyclopaedia_Britannica_with_Wikisource_reference" title="Category:Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference">Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_incorporating_text_from_the_1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica" title="Category:Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica">Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_November_2019" title="Category:Use dmy dates from November 2019">Use dmy dates from November 2019</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_August_2022" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022">Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1911_Britannica_articles_needing_updates_from_August_2020" title="Category:1911 Britannica articles needing updates from August 2020">1911 Britannica articles needing updates from August 2020</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 2 February 2025, at 07:10<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wire&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia.svg" width="25" height="25" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" lang="en" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" width="88" height="31"><img src="/w/resources/assets/mediawiki_compact.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" lang="en" width="25" height="25" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-header-container vector-sticky-header-container"> <div id="vector-sticky-header" class="vector-sticky-header"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-start"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-start vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" aria-hidden="true"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-sticky-header-search-toggle" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.vector-sticky-search-form.icon"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </div> <div role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box"> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="vector-sticky-search-form" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia"> <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-sticky-header-toc vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">Wire</span></div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-end" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icons"> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-talk-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="talk-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbles mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbles"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-subject-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="subject-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-article mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-article"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-history-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>72 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mw-portlet mw-portlet-dock-bottom emptyPortlet" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul> </ul> </div> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.eqiad.main-b98c64bff-kmpnw","wgBackendResponseTime":207,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.457","walltime":"0.668","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1596,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":25532,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":1999,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":7,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":33028,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 569.947 1 -total"," 27.26% 155.348 1 Template:Refs"," 20.32% 115.820 1 Template:Authority_control"," 17.18% 97.932 3 Template:Cite_web"," 14.40% 82.091 1 Template:Short_description"," 9.11% 51.897 1 Template:Use_dmy_dates"," 8.05% 45.874 2 Template:Pagetype"," 7.69% 43.824 1 Template:Citation_needed"," 7.30% 41.605 1 Template:Other_uses"," 6.97% 39.704 1 Template:Fix"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.281","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5679730,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-8669bc5c8-t4cx9","timestamp":"20250318155036","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Wire","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wire","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q551997","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q551997","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2001-09-10T04:40:01Z","dateModified":"2025-02-02T07:10:23Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/b\/bd\/Sample_cross-section_of_high_tension_power_%28pylon%29_line.jpg","headline":"flexible strand or rod of metal composed of one or more strands"}</script> </body> </html>