Abrasion Resistance -- A measure of the ability of a wire, wire covering or material to resist surface wear.

Accelerated Aging or Accelerated Life Test -- A test which duplicates long time environmental conditions in a relatively short time. The conditions to which a cable or material is subjected, such as temperature and voltage, are increased in magnitude above normal operating values. The observable deterioration in a reasonable period of time provides a relative measure of the probable life under operating conditions.

Accelerator -- A chemical additive which hastens the chemical reaction under specific conditions; also called a promoter.

Acceptance Test -- A test designed to demonstrate the degree of compliance with specified requirements.

Adhesive -- A material capable of holding other materials together by surface attachment.

Adjacent Conductor -- Any conductor next to another conductor in the same multi-conductor cable layer or in adjacent layers.

Admittance -- The measure of ease with which an alternating current flows in a circuit. The reciprocal of impedance.

Aerial Cable -- Cable suspended in the air on poles or other overhead structures.

Aerial Distribution Wire -- Designed for temporary use in lieu of or to supplement existing open wire plant, where shielding is not required.

Aging -- The change in properties of a material with time under given conditions.

Aging Stability Test -- A test of the flexibility of a cable after subjecting it to a high temperature followed by a low temperature.

Air Spaced Coaxial Cable -- One in which air is essentially the dielectric material. A spirally wound synthetic filament, beads or braided filaments may be used to center the conductor.

Alarm Pair -- A dedicated pair connecting a remote contacting device to a central monitoring point.

Alloy -- A metal formed by combining two or more different metals to obtain desirable properties.

Alpeth -- An aerial telephone cable having an aluminum shield.

Alternating Current -- Electric current that periodically and regularly reverses its direction. Expressed in cycles per second (Hertz or Hz).

Ambient -- Conditions existing at a test or operating location prior to energizing of equipment.

American Wire Gauge (AWG) -- The standard measurement to indicate wire diameter. The diameters of successive sizes vary geometrically in retrogression, i.e. the larger the number, the smaller the wire. Also know as the B&S standard.

Ampacity -- The allowable current carrying capacity of a conductor measured in amperes.

Angle of Advance -- The angle between a line perpendicular to the axis of the cable and the axis of any one member or strand of the braid; also referred to as braid angle.

Anneal -- To heat and then gradually cool in order to relieve mechanical stresses. Annealing copper makes it softer and less brittle, thus lowering the tensile strength while improving the flex life.

Annular Conductor -- A number of wires stranded in three reversed concentric layers around a core.

Anode -- The positive pole on an electric source.

ANSI -- American National Standards Institute.

Anti-Oxidant -- A substance which prevents or slows down oxygen decomposition of a material.

Anti-Ozonant -- A substance which prevents or slows down material degradation due to ozone reaction.

Appliance Wiring Material (AWM) -- A UL listing for insulated wire that will be used as component wiring inside a piece of equipment. The wire is usually designated by a four digit style number, such as UL Style 1015. The style number establishes the conductor size range, insulation type and thickness, voltage and temperature rating, for the particular wire. The AWM listing is important for OEM's who are using the wire inside their equipment.

Arc Resistance -- The time required for an arc to establish a conductive path in a material.

Armor -- Metallic tape, tube, braid or wire that provides mechanical protection for those applications where extreme wear resistance is required.

Armored Cable -- A cable covered with a heavy outer braid, tape, or tube of metal for the purpose of mechanical protection.

Asbestos -- A silicate mineral that readily separates into flexible fibers suitable for use as an incombustible, non-conducting chemically resistant material. Fibrous asbestos wire and cable insulation is used in the form of yarn servings, felts, lap, roving and braid. Asbestos reinforced or combined with other materials also is used. Where space is important, asbestos papers and purified asbestos papers may be used.

Attenuation -- The power drop or signal loss; the loss of electrical energy as it travels along a cable expressed in decibels (dB). As applied to coaxial cables, the power drop of signal loss in a circuit. It is also the decrease in amplitude of a wave with distance in the direction of wave propagation when the amplitude at any given place is constant in time or the decrease in amplitude with time at a given place. Attenuation is generally expressed in decibels per unit, usually 100 feet, and is indicative of the power loss.

Attenuation Constant -- The rating for a cable or other transmitting medium which is the relative rate of amplitude decrease of voltage or current in the direction of travel; measured in dB/unit length.

Audio Frequency -- Frequencies audible to the human ear; approximately 20-20,000 cycles per second.