Why does a kinked wire reduce data throughput?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the physical reasons why kinks in data wires are believed to reduce data throughput. Participants explore various factors such as resistance, inductance, and signal integrity, addressing both theoretical and practical implications of kinks in transmission lines.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that kinks in data wires may increase resistance, while others suggest that inductive effects could also play a role.
  • There is a suggestion that bending or kinking the wire leads to work hardening, which could increase losses and lower throughput.
  • One participant argues that kinks may not directly reduce throughput but could decrease signal intensity or create reflections and noise, complicating the detection of data.
  • Another viewpoint indicates that severe kinks could lead to complete failure of the data connection, resulting in a total loss of throughput.
  • It is noted that even minor errors caused by kinks can significantly degrade throughput due to increased packet loss and the need for retransmissions.
  • A later reply suggests that kinks may reduce the maximum distance for error-free transmission.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the mechanisms by which kinks affect throughput, with some emphasizing resistance and inductance, while others focus on signal integrity and error rates. No consensus is reached on the primary cause of throughput reduction.

Contextual Notes

Discussions include assumptions about the severity of kinks and their specific effects on different types of data transmission. The relationship between physical wire properties and data integrity remains complex and unresolved.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in data transmission, electrical engineering, and the physical properties of materials may find this discussion relevant.

greypilgrim
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Hi.

I read that every kink in a data wire reduces throughput. What's the physical reason for this? Does the resistance of the wire increase at a kink or is this an inductive effect or something else?
 
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greypilgrim said:
Does the resistance of the wire increase at a kink or is this an inductive effect or something else?
Both?
 
And why does resistance increase? And why would this affect the data rate?
 
Bending/kinking work hardens the wire. Increased losses, lower throughput.
 
greypilgrim said:
Hi.

I read that every kink in a data wire reduces throughput. What's the physical reason for this? Does the resistance of the wire increase at a kink or is this an inductive effect or something else?
I think you are referring to a transmission line with two conductors. I think the main effect is to add inductance at the kink, and this will create a mismatch, reflecting some of the pulse energy. The received pulse will then be accompanied by echoes, which make detection of 0s and 1s more difficult.
 
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greypilgrim said:
Hi.

I read that every kink in a data wire reduces throughput. What's the physical reason for this? Does the resistance of the wire increase at a kink or is this an inductive effect or something else?
Kinks in data wire do not reduce throughput directly. They may decrease the intensity of the received signal or create unexpected reflections or noise, but that does not, by itself, reduce throughput. The rate at which bits go into a length of wire is still the same as the rate at which they come out.

If the kink is severe enough, the data connection will simply fail. That could be viewed as a 100% decrease in throughput. That is actually the preferred mode of failure.

If the kink is only severe enough to produce errors, there can be a serious throughput degradation as a result. This degradation will be more serious than one might naively imagine. A packet loss rate of one percent is enough to cripple a circuit and degrade end to end throughput by over 50% as upper layer protocol endpoints resort to timeouts and retransmissions to preserve communications integrity.
 
I think we can say that a kink will slightly reduce the maximum distance at which error free transmission can be obtained.
 

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