Glossary | SignWire Products

Term	Description
Brazing	The joining of ends of two wires, rods or groups of wires with a non-ferrous filler metal at temperatures above 800F (427C).
Breakdown (Puncture)	A disruptive discharge through insulation
Breakdown of Insulation	Failure of an insulation resulting in a flow of current through the insulation. It may be caused by high voltage, defects or decay.
Breakdown Voltage	The voltage at which the insulation between two conductors breaks down
Breakout	The point at which a conductor or group of conductors breaks out from a multi-conductor cable to complete circuits at various points along the main cable
Building Wire	Wire used for light and power (600 volts or less) usually not exposed to outdoor environments
Bunch Stranding	A group of wires of the same diameter twisted together without a predetermined pattern
Buried Cable	A cable installed directly in the Earth without use of underground conduit; also called "direct burial cable."
C.S.A.	Abbreviation for Canadian Standards Association
Cable	A group of individually insulated conductors in twisted or parallel configuration, with or without an overall covering
Cable Assembly	A completed cable and its associated hardware ready to install
Cable Filler	The material used in multiple conductor cables to occupy the spaces formed by the assembly or components, thus forming a core of the desired shape (normally cylindrical).
Cabling	The twisting together of two or more insulated conductors to form a cable
Cabling Factor	Used in the formula for calculating the diameter of an unshielded, unjacketed cable (D=Kd, where the cable diameter, K is the factor and d is the diameter of the insulated conductor)
Caged Armor	A construction using wires within a jacket to increase mechanical protection and tensile strength. This construction is sometimes used in submarine cables.
Canadian Standards Association International (CSA)	Test products for compliance to national and international standards, and issue certification marks for qualified products. Certification marks tell potential customers and users that a product has been evaluated by a formal process-involving examination, testing and follow-up inspection-and that it complies with applicable standards for safety and performance.
Capacitance	Storage of electrically separated charges between two plates having different potentials. The value depends largely on the surface area of the plates and the distance between them.
Capacitance Coupling	Electrical interaction between two conductors caused by the capacitance between them
Capacitance, Direct	The capacitance measured directly from conductor to conductor through a single insulating layer
Capacitance, Mutual	The capacitance between two conductors and all other conductors, including shield, short-circuited to ground
Capacitance, Unbalance	An inequality of capacitance between the wires of two or more pairs which results in a transfer of unwanted signals from one pair to others
Capacitance, Unbalance To Ground	An inequality of capacitance between the ground capacitance of the conductors of a pair which results in a pickup of external source energy, usually from power transmission lines
Carrier	The basic woven grouping of a braided shield, consisting of one or several parallel ends
Cathode	Negative pole of an electric source
Cathode Protection	The control of the electrolytic corrosion of an underground or underwater metallic structure by the application of an electric current through a sacrificial anode in such a way that the structure is made to act as a cathode of an electrolytic cell
CATV	An acronym for Community Antenna Television
CCTV	Closed Circuit Television
Cellular Polyethylene	Expanded or "foam" polyethylene consisting of individually closed cells suspended in a polyethylene medium
CENELEC	CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, was created in 1973 as a result of the merger of two previous European organizations: CENELCOM and CENEL. Today, CENELEC is a non-profit technical organization set up under Belgian law and composed of the National Electrotechnical Committees of 23 European countries. In addition, 12 National Committees from Central and Eastern Europe are participating in CENELEC work with an Affiliate status. Their ultimate goal as affiliates is gaining full membership to CENELEC Standardization activities.
Center-to-Center Distance	See definition for "Pitch"

Brazing

The joining of ends of two wires, rods or groups of wires with a non-ferrous filler metal at temperatures above 800F (427C).

Breakdown (Puncture)

A disruptive discharge through insulation

Breakdown of Insulation

Failure of an insulation resulting in a flow of current through the insulation. It may be caused by high voltage, defects or decay.

Breakdown Voltage

The voltage at which the insulation between two conductors breaks down

Breakout

The point at which a conductor or group of conductors breaks out from a multi-conductor cable to complete circuits at various points along the main cable

Building Wire

Wire used for light and power (600 volts or less) usually not exposed to outdoor environments

Bunch Stranding

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

Buried Cable

A cable installed directly in the Earth without use of underground conduit; also called "direct burial cable."

C.S.A.

Abbreviation for Canadian Standards Association

Cable

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

Cable Assembly

A completed cable and its associated hardware ready to install

Cable Filler

The material used in multiple conductor cables to occupy the spaces formed by the assembly or components, thus forming a core of the desired shape (normally cylindrical).

Cabling

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

Cabling Factor

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

Caged Armor

A construction using wires within a jacket to increase mechanical protection and tensile strength. This construction is sometimes used in submarine cables.

Canadian Standards Association International (CSA)

Test products for compliance to national and international standards, and issue certification marks for qualified products. Certification marks tell potential customers and users that a product has been evaluated by a formal process-involving examination, testing and follow-up inspection-and that it complies with applicable standards for safety and performance.

Capacitance

Storage of electrically separated charges between two plates having different potentials. The value depends largely on the surface area of the plates and the distance between them.

Capacitance Coupling

Electrical interaction between two conductors caused by the capacitance between them

Capacitance, Direct

The capacitance measured directly from conductor to conductor through a single insulating layer

Capacitance, Mutual

The capacitance between two conductors and all other conductors, including shield, short-circuited to ground

Capacitance, Unbalance

An inequality of capacitance between the wires of two or more pairs which results in a transfer of unwanted signals from one pair to others

Capacitance, Unbalance To Ground

An inequality of capacitance between the ground capacitance of the conductors of a pair which results in a pickup of external source energy, usually from power transmission lines

Carrier

The basic woven grouping of a braided shield, consisting of one or several parallel ends

Cathode

Negative pole of an electric source

Cathode Protection

The control of the electrolytic corrosion of an underground or underwater metallic structure by the application of an electric current through a sacrificial anode in such a way that the structure is made to act as a cathode of an electrolytic cell

CATV

An acronym for Community Antenna Television

CCTV

Closed Circuit Television

Cellular Polyethylene

Expanded or "foam" polyethylene consisting of individually closed cells suspended in a polyethylene medium

CENELEC

CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, was created in 1973 as a result of the merger of two previous European organizations: CENELCOM and CENEL. Today, CENELEC is a non-profit technical organization set up under Belgian law and composed of the National Electrotechnical Committees of 23 European countries. In addition, 12 National Committees from Central and Eastern Europe are participating in CENELEC work with an Affiliate status. Their ultimate goal as affiliates is gaining full membership to CENELEC Standardization activities.

Center-to-Center Distance

See definition for "Pitch"

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