What is Wire: Definition and 1000 Discussions

A wire is a single usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number. The term 'wire' is also used more loosely to refer to a bundle of such strands, as in "multistranded wire", which is more correctly termed a wire rope in mechanics, or a cable in electricity.
Wire comes in solid core, stranded, or braided forms. Although usually circular in cross-section, wire can be made in square, hexagonal, flattened rectangular, or other cross-sections, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency voice coils in loudspeakers. Edge-wound coil springs, such as the Slinky toy, are made of special flattened wire.

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  1. F

    Motional EMF in the frame of a moving wire

    When a magnetic field is moving (moving magnet) while a wire isn’t---in the reference frame of the wire, there’s no known magnetic force/effect on the wire before the introduction of motional emf and relativity. If viewed in the reference frame of the magnetic field instead where the wire is...
  2. F

    Work done on a moving square wire loop in a B-field

    There’s a current i in the loop in the figure. The Ampere’s force iLB on a wire of length L exerts on charges in the wire but it does no work on the charges. The charges would go in circular motion if there were no wire. Then the wire exerts exactly iLB on those charges to keep the charges...
  3. G

    Confusion on the magnitude of magnetic fields

    Here, the correct options are A,D. Solution: I got A as answer as ∫ B.dl=µI. But, the answer to the question says that it is a solenoid and therefore Bx=0 for point P. Here I'm a bit confused. I know this system resembles a solenoid in some ways, then By must have some finite value, but...
  4. K

    E&M: Field of a Wire with non-uniform current

    Summary:: Not sure if my solution to a magnetostatics problem is correct [Mentor Note -- thread moved from the technical forums, so no Homework Template is shown] I was trying to solve problem 2 from...
  5. G

    Origin of Potential Energy - 65 Characters

    I think the right choice is c. I'll pass on my reasoning to you: We can think that if the formula of the potential is V(r)=\dfrac{kq}{r} If r tends to infinity, then V(r)=0. But the correct answer is d).
  6. ElectronicTeaCup

    Tension T in a parabolic wire at any point

    I am unsure how to go about this. I tried following the suggestion blindly and end up with with some cumbersome terms that are not the answer. From what I understand the derivative at each point would equal to T? Answer: I just can seem to get to this. I think I'm there but can't get it in...
  7. Elder1994

    Magnetic field due to the current flowing in a bent wire

    Hello, in this problem I'm supposed to calculate de magnetic field due to a bent wire at any point of the x-axis after the bending of the wires. It is obvious that the part of the wire that is parallel to the x-axis makes no contribution to the field so we can focus on the other part of the...
  8. R

    Please check my calculation of the resistance of this wire shape

    I explained what I want to tell you in the picture I add. Thanks in advance.
  9. BillTre

    Chemical/Paint Shop for Black Anodized Wire | 1-0.075mm Dia.

    I have a project for which I am looking for a black anodized wire. I feel I can find this in aluminum wire pretty easily, but if possible, I would like to use something that might be stiffer. Wikipedia says a variety of metals ca be anodized, but I don't recall ever seeing such products and...
  10. HAgdn

    Total Current running through a wire due to the drawn currents

    I made this scenario where I am looking for the total current running through a wire (I_0). I am also trying to model the current running through the wire (I_0) considering the harmonics contributed by the four loads. But since Fourier stated that a complex waveform is the discrete sum of some...
  11. HAgdn

    Behavior of Current in an AC mains wire

    No attempted solutions.
  12. B

    How far from this current-carrying wire will the Earth's magnetic field cancel the B-field from the wire?

    Hey everyone So this is question shown below I'm not so sure where to begin with this, but I thought I'd work out the net magnetic field first How would I work out the magnetic field strength that is acting on the vertical current-carrying wire. Since I do not know what d is in this case...
  13. nmsurobert

    Gauge of wire to use in an induction experiment

    I'm setting up a Faraday/Lenz Law lab and was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on what gauge of wire I should use to get the best results. We don't have any wire here so I can't test it myself. Thanks.
  14. kadiot

    Audio broadcast via a physical wire

    Is there a way to broadcast emergency messages via cable radio? Its not really radio but audio going out from copper or fiber using existing landlines or CATV cables. No tuner needed, could just be a speaker. The system I am looking for does not need internet or mobile connections. I imagine it...
  15. M

    Inducing electric current in a wire (a comparison)

    Consider the following experiment: from a lacquered copper wire we cut off twenty to thirty pieces of about 10 cm. From them we form a bundle of parallel wires and connect the two ends with one more wire each. The other ends of these two wires are connected to a sensitive analog ammeter. We hold...
  16. B

    Working out the current flow in a wire

    Hi there! I have recently been given this question by my teacher as shown below I'm struggling to see the set up arrangement for this circuit This is what I have drawn so far How would I fit in the third wire here and ensure I have closed loop circuit so that current can begin to flow...
  17. S

    Calculating the flux density between two magnets

    This is for an experiment to deflect a 28 SWG wire between two magnets, 3cm apart, by passing a current through it (example attached). The force on the wire is obviously F = BIL, but the wire will be passing at 1.5cm from each magnet so there will be some significant fall off of B and I can't...
  18. P

    Magnetic field Calculation of a Square Wire Loop (with a changed segment)

    I tried to solve the above i have one confusion here. I have marked the areas as shown B2 = B4 = 0; B1 , B5 Out of Page ; B3, B6 Into the Page. B1 and B5 Calculation Now main doubt is regarding the B field of the finite wire let us say 1. I took the derivation of the infinite wire as below from...
  19. C

    Electrical potential of a thin wire in an E field

    Assume that an infinite metallic plate A lies in the xy-plane, and another infinite metallic plate B is parallel to A and at height z = h. The potential of plate A is 0, and the potential of plate B is constant and equal to V. So, there is a uniform electrostatic field E between plates A and B...
  20. Moara

    Wire rotating inside a magnetic field

    For a infinitesimal wire of lengh dx, the induced potential difference in an uniform B field perpendicular to it's motion is : dE=B.Vp.dx, where Vp is the component of the velocity perpendicular to the wire. Looking to the big wire I tried to take an arbitrary point express dE in function of...
  21. A

    Troubleshooting Wave Velocity on a Piano Wire

    angular frequency= 50 rad/s= 2*pi*frequency frequency= 7.96 Hz k=2*pi/wavelength k=2*pi/(2*1.6m) = 1.96 velocity=angular frequency/ k velocity=50/ 1.96 = 25.5 m/s For some reason this velocity is wrong
  22. funmi

    Voltage between two points on an empty wire and also across a resistor

    In a closed circuit the battery sets up a potential difference which causes charge to flow. I understand potential difference as the measure of electric potential energy per unit charge, the amount of energy required to move a charge from one point to another per charge. for example when a...
  23. anonymous99

    Rotational motion question -- Wire wound around a rolling spool

    Shouldn't the answer have the same magnitude regardless of sign convention?
  24. bryanso

    Why is the Electric Field outside this wire not zero?

    Not a homework. Just self-studying electromagnetism. I am stuck at understanding the very beginning of the solution steps in this example: The E as given in the solution is the field away from a long straight line with charge Lambda. That's clearly not the current configuration. E should...
  25. peace

    Mutual inductance between a very long, straight wire and a Semicircular loop

    I think I have to assume a point like P in the semicircle. The point in terms of r and θ: P (r,θ). So the magnetic field at that point: B = µI/2π(R+rcosθ) . So the magnetic flux: Φ = ∫B.dA= µI/2π ∫∫ rdrdθ / R+rcosθ . Is this the correct solution?
  26. J

    I Does Moving a Wire Increase its Magnetic Field?

    Folks, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum topic for my question, but it seems to be close or related. Question: If you have a wire carrying current then it creates a magnetic field as in the diagram in the link below...
  27. Leanne

    Finding the diameter of a wire

    Mentor node: Added code tags From=menu('select:','c', 'g', 'a', 's:'); This is part of my code and I'm not coming up with anything close l=input('input wire length') %current copper=12.5572...
  28. vanhees71

    Insights Relativistic Treatment of the DC Conducting Straight Wire

    Continue reading...
  29. Telemachus

    Magnetostatics and Ampere's law on a finite length wire

    I tried to think why Ampere's law seems to fail in this case. For me it was clear that there is no symmetry in the z direction, there is no translational symmetry because of the finiteness of the wire. On the other hand, I know that Ampere's law is independent of the loop we take. This also...
  30. D

    How to estimate the heating of a wire

    Hello, I've done some background research on this, and answers seem to vary. I would like to calculate the amount of heating in a wire. Let's say I want to heat a wire up to 60 degrees. I have 1 W of power and 150 mA of current at my disposal to do so. How could I estimate the wire diameter...
  31. jisbon

    A metal bar moves upwards near a long current carrying wire....

    Not sure what to do here, but I do know that magnetic field is pointing in the paper according to the right hand grip from current carrying wire. Hence I can calculate magnetic field to be: ##B = \mu_{0} I/2\pi r=(4\pi * 10^{-7})(50)/2\pi (0.004) = 3.94784*10^{-7}T## Now from what I...
  32. R

    Residual voltage on a ground wire

    Dear All, Hope you are fine! Hope this is the right place for this question. If not, my apologies. We just replaced the complete wiring of our apartment with three wires (live, neutral and ground + new circuit breakers + residual current device). Last week I noticed some tickling on my fingers...
  33. U

    Finding the Length of a wire

    How to find the length of a wire of a 3000 Kelvin incandescent light bulb that produces L = 60W of power. The diameter of the wire is 0.00005m. I'm quite confused, as the resistivity of the bulb isn't given so I'm not sure what equation to use as resistivity = resistance × area / length does...
  34. snatchingthepi

    Where does this term come from? (pulling a wire loop through a B-field)

    I can't for whatever reason figure out where the sin(theta) term is coming from in the attached picture of page 306 of Griffiths' 4th edition EM text. The paragraph says it comes from the dot product, but I just don't see where it's coming from.
  35. P

    Circular loop of wire is concentric with a solenoid

    Question: In Figure (a), a circular loop of wire is concentric with a solenoid and lies in a plane perpendicular to the solenoid's central axis.The loop has radius 6.13 cm. The solenoid has radius 2.07 cm, consists of 8230 turns/m, and has a current i_sol varying with time t as given in Figure...
  36. Majorana

    Insulated copper wire turned into gray powder

    Summary: Insulated copper wires (not plated) inexplicably turned into gray powder. Wires are intact between affected spots. This is a piece of common red/black loudspeaker cable, with PVC insulation, pulled from service after about 18 months from installation. It was used to feed a small...
  37. bob012345

    Energy vs. Time in a Magnetic Field due to a Current Carrying Wire

    I want to know the total energy contained in a magnetic field due to a long wire (just consider a 1m segment) as a 1amp current is turned on starting at time zero. I'm assuming zero turn-on time for convenience. At t=0 the cylindrical field is formed and I wish to know the total energy as a...
  38. D

    Electric field in the narrow wire

    i've started from this I1=I2 then I1= JA1=##\frac {E l} R## I2= JA2=##\frac {E_2 l} R## but can't get anything useful relating them. Am i forgetting any other useful formula? I get as result E4
  39. A

    Determining Resistance of a Copper Wire Without Knowing Its Resistivity

    What i did is: ##R=\rho\frac{l}{\Sigma}=\rho\frac{l}{d_2^2\pi-d_1^2\pi}## The problem is that I don't have ##\rho##. Is there a way to find ##R## without knowing it? Many thanks.
  40. S

    Springy wire with custom cross-section

    This potato masher youtu.be/j5IXRT3uxbA?t=170 would be easier to use if the spring wire had a tear-drop shaped cross section, with the pointy edge facing downwards. But how much would it add to the cost and feasibility? Can standard machines be easily rejigged to make non-circular wire?
  41. TheBigDig

    Derive an expression for the applied field of a superconducting wire

    So far the best I've been able to come up with is to use ##\vec{B} = \mu_0 \vec{H}## which gives me i_c = H 2\pi r j_c = \frac{H 2\pi r}{\pi r^2} = \frac{2H}{r} \therefore B = \mu_0 \frac{r j_c}{2} I'm fairly confident this is just terrible math and physics on my behalf but I'm struggling to...
  42. B

    Faraday's Law and the distance from another wire

    Hello, I have a conceptual question regarding Faraday's Law: emf = d/dt(Φ), where |Φ|=|B*A|. My question is does Faraday's Law take into account the distance between the solenoid producing the non-coulombic electrical field (Enc) and a wire circling the solenoid, which now have an emf due to the...
  43. H

    How to exactly calculate the required wire diameter?

    Hi! I would like to know how to exactly calculate required wire diameter? For example, here I found this calculator on internet: https://www.solar-wind.co.uk/CST.html . It takes acceptable loss, volts, amps, and cable length for arguments. It specifies Vdc. Would it be different formula with...
  44. George-M

    Number of Turns vs. Wire Gauge (BLDC Motor)

    Summary: For the same mass of copper wire, would more turns or greater thickness create a stronger magnetic field from a coil? So I am attempting to make a brush less DC motor, and I am wondering whether the coils would create a greater magnetic force if there are more turns or if the wire is...
  45. greenrichy

    Find the stretch of a steel wire in a static equilibrium problem.

    If I can determine the weight of that heavy object placed on the plank, I will be able to determine the stretch of that wire. But, when using the second condition for static equilibrium (torques of the system equal to 0), I always end up with two unknowns, no matter what point of rotation I...
  46. B

    Astrophysics question: Wire mesh radio telescope antenna

    The answer says its 1 meter i don't understand how they arrived at this, The mark scheme suggests that the 50mm is the resolving power or Rayleigh criteria? https://downloads.umutech.net/Physics/Past_Papers/PA05/Astro/MS/physics_u5_astro_ms_jan_2003.pdf
  47. K

    How does circuit complete when using live wire tester?

    I raise this question because at a fundamental level I still do not understand how a Capacitor works and how a circuit completes thru capacitor. The live electric tester screwdriver uses stray body capacitance to lit a neon when one end comes in contact with live wire and another with a human...
  48. S

    Optimizing Coil Design for DIY Generator Efficiency

    Hello All, am trying to make my own Generator 5kw , am trying to find out how many coils i need , i have a drum which is full of magnet 48 NSNSNS... for the coil i have 8 cores U shape U86A size of section is 15 cm ( 56x28mm ) how to find out what gauge for the magnet wire...
  49. S

    AC Current versus AC Voltage on the Neutral Wire of AC Mains

    Sir how can one explain with the help of an analogy to a grade 10th student the reason behind not getting a shock on touching the neutral wire of the household AC circuit, even though the current flows alternately through live as well as neutral wires.
  50. PaxFinnica96

    Calculating the Gauge of a Copper Wire for a Thermometer Bridge Circuit

    Hi All, Really struggling to get my head around what I'm doing wrong - every time my answer of wire diameter comes out too small for what's included in the table of SWG. I must be doing something wrong somewhere - my attempt is below. Any help is very much appreciated.
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