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A standard wire gauge.
A standard wire gauge.

American wire gauge (AWG), also known as the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge, is a standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 in the United States and other countries for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire. Brown & Sharpe is today a division of Hexagon Metrology Inc a multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology Standardization (or standardisation) is the process of developing and agreeing upon technical standards. Wire gauge is a Measurement of how large a Wire is either in Diameter or cross sectional Area. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Electrical conduction is the movement of electrically charged particles through a Transmission medium ( Electrical conductor) [1] The steel industry uses a different numbering system for their wire thickness gauges (for example, W&M Wire Gauge or US Steel Wire Gauge or the different Music Wire Gauge) so data below does not apply to steel wire. Since AWG is specifically for electrical conductors, the cross-sectional area of each gauge is an important factor for determining its current-carrying capacity.

Increasing gauge numbers give decreasing wire diameters, which is similar to many other non-metric gauging systems. This is derived from the fact that the gauge number is related to the number of drawing operations that must be used to produce a given gauge of wire; very fine wire (for example, 30 gauge) requires more passes through the drawing dies than does 0 gauge wire. Wire drawing is a manufacturing process used to reduce or change the diameter of a Wire or rod by pulling the wire or rod through a single or series of drawing die(s A die is a specialized Tool used in Manufacturing industries to cut shape and form a wide variety of products and components

The AWG size is one of the essential specifications that are printed on data cables. For instance, an AWG of 24 is common for network cables such as a Category 5 UTP, and an AWG of 26 is the norm for Serial ATA cables. Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is a Twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity Twisted pair Cabling is a form of wiring in which two conductors (two halves of a single circuit) are wound together for the purposes of canceling out

Although the AWG tables are normally for a single, solid, round conductor, there are many cases in which AWG is applied to wires with multiple strands. When a stranded wire needs to be converted to an AWG equivalent size, the cross-sectional area of the conductor, which determines its current-carrying capacity and electrical resistance (not its diameter), is taken as the determining factor. Electrical resistance is a ratio of the degree to which an object opposes an Electric current through it measured in Ohms Its reciprocal quantity is This permits stranded wire to have a slightly different diameter than solid wire having the same AWG.

AWG is also commonly used to specify body piercing jewelry sizes, especially smaller sizes. Body piercing is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the Human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn [2]

Contents

Formula

By definition, No.  36 AWG is 0. 005 inches in diameter, and No.  0000 is 0. 46 inches in diameter. The ratio of the diameter of the latter compared to the former is 92, and the diameter changes 39 times from No.  36 to No.  0000 (there are 40 gauge sizes from No.  36 to No.  0000, but 39 steps from one to the other) . Using this common ratio, wire gauge sizes vary geometrically according to the following formula: The diameter of a No.  n AWG wire is

d_n = 0.005~\mathrm{inch} \times 92 ^ \frac{36-n}{39}

the gauge can be calculated from the diameter using

n=-39\log_{92} \left( \frac{d_{n}}{0.005~\mathrm{inch}} \right)+36[3]

and the cross-section area is

A_n = \frac{\pi}{4} d_n^2 = 0.000019635~\mathrm{inch}^2 \times 92 ^ \frac{36-n}{19.5}.

Sizes with multiple zeros are successively larger than No.  0 and can be denoted using "number of zeros/0", for example 4/0 for 0000. For an m/0 AWG wire, use n = −(m−1) in the above formulas. For instance, for No. 0000 or 4/0, use n = −3.

The ASTM B 258-02 standard defines the ratio between successive sizes to be the 39th root of 92, or approximately 1. 1229322. [4] ASTM B 258-02 also dictates that wire diameters should be tabulated with no more than 4 significant figures, with a resolution of no more than 0. 0001 inches (0. 1 mils) for wires larger than No. 44 AWG, and 0. 00001 inches (0. 01 mils) for wires No. 45 AWG and smaller.

Rules of Thumb

The sixth power of this ratio is very close to 2, which leads to the following rules of thumb:

Additionally, a decrease of ten gauge numbers, for example from No.  10 to 1/0, multiplies the area and weight by approximately 10 and reduces the resistance by approximately 10.

Table of AWG wire sizes

The table below shows various data including both the resistance of the various wire gauges and the allowable current (ampacity) based on plastic insulation. Ampacity, also described as current rating or current-carrying capacity, is the RMS Electric current which a device can continuously carry The diameter information in the table applies to solid wires. Stranded wires are calculated by calculating the equivalent cross sectional copper area. A wire is a single usually cylindrical, elongated string of drawn Metal. In Geometry, a cross section is the intersection of a body in 2-dimensional space with a line or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane etc Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. The table below assumes DC, or AC frequencies equal to or less than 60 Hz, and does not take skin effect into account. Direct current ( DC) is the unidirectional flow of Electric charge. An alternating current ( AC) is an Electric current whose direction reverses cyclically as opposed to Direct current, whose direction remains constant The skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC to distribute itself within a conductor so that the current density near the surface of the Turns of wire is on a best-case scenario when winding tightly packed coils with no insulation.

AWG Diameter Turns of wire Area Copper
resistance[5]		 NEC copper wire
ampacity with 60/75/
90°C raceway (A)[6]		 Approximate
stranded metric
equivalents
(inch) (mm) (per inch) (per cm) (kcmil) (mm²) (Ω/km) (mΩ/ft)
0000 (4/0) 0. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Electrical resistance is a ratio of the degree to which an object opposes an Electric current through it measured in Ohms Its reciprocal quantity is The National Electrical Code ( NEC) or NFPA 70, is a United States standard for the safe installation of Electrical wiring and equipment A circular mil is a unit of Area, equal to the area of a Circle with a Diameter of one mil. The ohm (symbol Ω) is the SI unit of Electrical impedance or in the Direct current case Electrical resistance, 4600 11. 684 2. 17 0. 856 212 107 0. 1608 0. 04901 195 / 230 / 260
000 (3/0) 0. 4096 10. 404 2. 44 0. 961 168 85. 0 0. 2028 0. 06180 165 / 200 / 225
00 (2/0) 0. 3648 9. 266 2. 74 1. 08 133 67. 4 0. 2557 0. 07793 145 / 175 / 195
0 (1/0) 0. 3249 8. 252 3. 08 1. 21 106 53. 5 0. 3224 0. 09827 125 / 150 / 170
1 0. 2893 7. 348 3. 46 1. 36 83. 7 42. 4 0. 4066 0. 1239 110 / 130 / 150
2 0. 2576 6. 544 3. 88 1. 53 66. 4 33. 6 0. 5127 0. 1563 95 / 115 / 130
3 0. 2294 5. 827 4. 36 1. 72 52. 6 26. 7 0. 6465 0. 1970 85 / 100 / 110 196/0. 4
4 0. 2043 5. 189 4. 89 1. 93 41. 7 21. 2 0. 8152 0. 2485 70 / 85 / 95
5 0. 1819 4. 621 5. 50 2. 16 33. 1 16. 8 1. 028 0. 3133 126/0. 4
6 0. 1620 4. 115 6. 17 2. 43 26. 3 13. 3 1. 296 0. 3951 55 / 65 / 75
7 0. 1443 3. 665 6. 93 2. 73 20. 8 10. 5 1. 634 0. 4982 80/0. 4
8 0. 1285 3. 264 7. 78 3. 06 16. 5 8. 37 2. 061 0. 6282 40 / 50 / 55
9 0. 1144 2. 906 8. 74 3. 44 13. 1 6. 63 2. 599 0. 7921 84/0. 3
10 0. 1019 2. 588 9. 81 3. 86 10. 4 5. 26 3. 277 0. 9989 30 / 35 / 40
11 0. 0907 2. 305 11. 0 4. 34 8. 23 4. 17 4. 132 1. 260 56/0. 3
12 0. 0808 2. 053 12. 4 4. 87 6. 53 3. 31 5. 211 1. 588 25 / 25 / 30 (20)
13 0. 0720 1. 828 13. 9 5. 47 5. 18 2. 62 6. 571 2. 003 50/0. 25
14 0. 0641 1. 628 15. 6 6. 14 4. 11 2. 08 8. 286 2. 525 20 / 20 / 25 (15)
15 0. 0571 1. 450 17. 5 6. 90 3. 26 1. 65 10. 45 3. 184 30/0. 25
16 0. 0508 1. 291 19. 7 7. 75 2. 58 1. 31 13. 17 4. 016 — / — / 18 (10)
17 0. 0453 1. 150 22. 1 8. 70 2. 05 1. 04 16. 61 5. 064 32/0. 2
18 0. 0403 1. 024 24. 8 9. 77 1. 62 0. 823 20. 95 6. 385 — / — / 14 (7) 24/0. 2
19 0. 0359 0. 912 27. 9 11. 0 1. 29 0. 653 26. 42 8. 051
20 0. 0320 0. 812 31. 3 12. 3 1. 02 0. 518 33. 31 10. 15 16/0. 2
21 0. 0285 0. 723 35. 1 13. 8 0. 810 0. 410 42. 00 12. 80
22 0. 0253 0. 644 39. 5 15. 5 0. 642 0. 326 52. 96 16. 14 7/0. 25
23 0. 0226 0. 573 44. 3 17. 4 0. 509 0. 258 66. 79 20. 36
24 0. 0201 0. 511 49. 7 19. 6 0. 404 0. 205 84. 22 25. 67 1/0. 5, 7/0. 2, 30/0. 1
25 0. 0179 0. 455 55. 9 22. 0 0. 320 0. 162 106. 2 32. 37
26 0. 0159 0. 405 62. 7 24. 7 0. 254 0. 129 133. 9 40. 81 7/0. 15
27 0. 0142 0. 361 70. 4 27. 7 0. 202 0. 102 168. 9 51. 47
28 0. 0126 0. 321 79. 1 31. 1 0. 160 0. 0810 212. 9 64. 90
29 0. 0113 0. 286 88. 8 35. 0 0. 127 0. 0642 268. 5 81. 84
30 0. 0100 0. 255 99. 7 39. 3 0. 101 0. 0509 338. 6 103. 2 1/0. 25, 7/0. 1
31 0. 00893 0. 227 112 44. 1 0. 0797 0. 0404 426. 9 130. 1
32 0. 00795 0. 202 126 49. 5 0. 0632 0. 0320 538. 3 164. 1 1/0. 2, 7/0. 08
33 0. 00708 0. 180 141 55. 6 0. 0501 0. 0254 678. 8 206. 9
34 0. 00630 0. 160 159 62. 4 0. 0398 0. 0201 856. 0 260. 9
35 0. 00561 0. 143 178 70. 1 0. 0315 0. 0160 1079 329. 0
36 0. 00500 0. 127 200 78. 7 0. 0250 0. 0127 1361 414. 8
37 0. 00445 0. 113 225 88. 4 0. 0198 0. 0100 1716 523. 1
38 0. 00397 0. 101 252 99. 3 0. 0157 0. 00797 2164 659. 6
39 0. 00353 0. 0897 283 111 0. 0125 0. 00632 2729 831. 8
40 0. 00314 0. 0799 318 125 0. 00989 0. 00501 3441 1049

The "Approximate stranded metric equivalents" column lists commonly available cables in the format "number of strands / diameter of individual strand (mm)" which is the common nomenclature describing cable construction within an overall cross-sectional area. Some common cables are midway between two AWG sizes. Cables sold in Europe are normally labeled according to the combined cross section of all strands in mm², which can be compared directly with the Area column.

In the North American electrical industry, conductors larger than 4/0 AWG are generally identified by the area in thousands of circular mils (kcmil), where 1 kcmil = 0. 5067 mm². A circular mil is the area of a wire one mil in diameter. A circular mil is a unit of Area, equal to the area of a Circle with a Diameter of one mil. MilA thou, also known as a mil, is a unit of Length equal to 0 One million circular mils is the area of a cylinder with 1000 mil = 1 inch diameter. An older abbreviation for one thousand circular mils is MCM.

Outside North America, wire sizes for electrical purposes are usually given as the cross sectional area in square millimeters. International standard manufacturing sizes for conductors in electrical cables are defined in IEC 60228. International standards are Standards developed by international Standards organisations International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide IEC 60228 is the International Electrotechnical Commission 's International standard on conductors of insulated cables.

Note that the area in mm² may differ somewhat from the numbers given in the table, depending on number of strands etc.

Pronunciation

AWG is colloquially referred to as gauge and the zeros in large wire sizes are referred to as aught (pronounced /ɔːt/). Wire sized 1 AWG is referred to as "one gauge"; similarly, smaller diameters are pronounced "x gauge", where x is the positive integer AWG number. Larger wire (#0 and up) is referred to as "one aught", "two aught" etc, depending on how many zeros are in the AWG rating. [7]

References

  1. ^ ASTM Standard B 258-02, Standard specification for standard nominal diameters and cross-sectional areas of AWG sizes of solid round wires used as electrical conductors, ASTM International, 2002
  2. ^ Body Piercing Jewelry Size Reference - SteelNavel.com
  3. ^ The logarithm to the base 92 can be computed using any other logarithm, such as common or natural logarithm, using log92x = (log x)/(log 92). ASTM International ( ASTM) originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials is an international Standards organization that develops and publishes The common logarithm is the Logarithm with base 10 It is also known as the decadic logarithm, named after its base The natural logarithm, formerly known as the Hyperbolic logarithm is the Logarithm to the base e, where e is an irrational
  4. ^ ASTM Standard B 258-02, page 4
  5. ^ Figure for solid copper wire at 68 °F, computed based on 100% IACS conductivity of 58. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736 a German Physicist who proposed it in 1724 0 MS/m, which agrees with multiple sources: High-purity oxygen-free copper can achieve up to 101. Oxygen-free copper (OFC or Oxygen-free high thermal conductivity ( OFHC) copper generally refer to a group of wrought high conductivity Copper alloys that 5% IACS conductivity; e. g. the Kanthal conductive alloys data sheet lists slightly lower resistances than this table.
  6. ^ NFPA 70 National Electrical Code 2008 Edition. Table 310. 16 page 70-148, Allowable ampacities of insulated conductors rated 0 throrugh 2000 volts, 60°C through 90°C, not more than three current-carrying conductors in raceway, cable, or earth (directly buried) based on ambient temperature of 30°C. For 12 and 14 AWG conductors, and 16 and 18 AWG conductors with 90°C insulation, the usable limit it set by 240. 4(D), which requires overcurrent protection (fuse or circuit breaker) at not more than 20, 15, 10 and 7 amps, respectively, regarless of temperature rating. Extracts from NFPA 70 do not represent the full position of NFPA and the original complete Code must be consulted. The National Electrical Code ( NEC) or NFPA 70, is a United States standard for the safe installation of Electrical wiring and equipment The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA is a US organization (albeit with some international members charged with creating and maintaining minimum standards and requirements
  7. ^ Glossary of Power Terms | Event Solutions

See also

External links

Dictionary

American wire gauge

-noun

  1. (US) A standard for the measurement of the diameter of wire, especially of non-ferrous, electrically conducting wire.
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