ABSTRACT
Electricity is conveyed in metal conductors, which have to be insulated and which also have to be protected against mechanical damage. When the conductor is insulated to make a usable piece of equipment for carrying electricity, it becomes a cable. This nomenclature makes a convenient and logical distinction between a bare conductor and insulated cable, but in practice the terms ‘conductor’ and ‘cable’ are in fact used interchangeably and it is only the context which makes clarified what is being referred to. We shall try to avoid confusion and shall discuss conductors first and the insulation applied to them afterwards.
