Page 255 - belden

TE CH N I C A L INF O RM A T I O N 255

Glossary

Abrasion Resistance — Ability of a wire, cable photograph in a second than to download Buffer — A protective coating over an
or material to resist surface wear. a page of text. Virtual reality and three- optical fiber.
dimensional audio/visual presentations
Accelerated Aging — A test that simulates require even more. Bunch Strand — Conductors twisted together
long time environmental conditions in a with the same lay and direction without regard
relatively short time. Baud — Rate of digital transmission equal to geometric pattern.
to the reciprocal of the time of one output
ACR — Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio. The signaling element. Buried — Cables that are required to go
difference between attenuation and crosstalk, underground.
measured in dB, at a given frequency. Bel — A unit that represents the logarithm of
Important characteristic in networking the ratio of two levels. One bel equals the base Bus-bar Wire — Uninsulated tinned copper
transmission to assure that signal sent down 10 logarithm of the ratio of two power levels. wire used as a common lead.
a twisted pair is stronger at the receiving end It is also equal to the base 10 logarithm of Butyl Rubber — A synthetic rubber with
of the cable than are any interference signals square of the ratio of two voltage or current good electrical insulating properties.
imposed on that same pair by crosstalk from levels, provided the impedances are the same
other pairs. at the two levels. (See dB.) Cable — A group of electrically or optically
conductive subcomponents twisted helically.
Alien Crosstalk — A measure of the unwanted Belflex® — A premium hybrid matte-finish
signal coupling between cabling or components jacket material that exhibits superior flexibility Cabling — The grouping or twisting together
in close proximity. at low temperatures along with resistance of two or more insulated conductors or
compared to standard PVC jacketing materials. subcomponents to form a cable.
American Wire Gage (AWG) — A standard
for expressing wire diameter. As the AWG Beldfoil® — Belden trademark for highly Capacitance — The ability of a dielectric
number gets smaller, the wire diameter effective electrostatic shield of reinforced material between conductors to store energy
gets larger. metallic foil. when a difference of potential exists between
the conductors. The unit of measurement is
Ampacity — Current handling capability Beldsol™ — Solderable Belden magnet wire the farad. Cable capacitance is usually
expressed in amperes. The maximum current combining insulating films of polyurethane measured in picofarads (pF).
a conductor can carry without being heated for excellent dielectric characteristics and
beyond a safe limit. nylon for mechanical protection. Capacitive Crosstalk — Cable crosstalk or
interference resulting from the coupling of
Ampere — A standard unit of current. Defined Bend Radius — Radius of curvature that a flat, the electrostatic field of one conductor upon
as the amount of current that flows when one round fiber optic or metallic cable can bend one or more others.
volt of electromotive force (EMF) is applied without any adverse effects.
across one ohm of resistance. One ampere of Capacitive Reactance — The opposition to
current is produced by one coulomb of charge Binder — A tape or thread used for holding alternating current due to the capacitance of
assembled cable components in place.
passing a point in one second. a capacitor, cable or circuit. It is measured in
Bit Error Rate — The number of errors ohms and is equal to 1/(2*pi*f*C) where pi is
Analog Signal — An electrical signal which approximately 3.1416, f is the frequency in Hz
occurring in a system per unit of time
varies continuously, not having discrete values. and C is the capacitance in farads.
Analog signals are copies or representations of (e.g. bits per second).
other waves in nature. An analog audio signal, Bonded Pairs™ — A patented method of Capacitor — Two conducting surfaces
for instance, is a representation of the pressure providing uniform electrical characteristics separated by a dielectric material. The
waves which make up audible sound. in twisted pairs in which the insulations of capacitance is determined by the area of
the pair are bonded so that they maintain the surfaces, type of dielectric and spacing
Attenuation — The decrease in magnitude of between the conducting surfaces.
consistent geometry of twisting when bent or
a signal as it travels through any transmitting
medium, such as a cable or circuitry. Attenuation otherwise stressed during and after installation. Cellular Polyethylene — Expanded or “foam”
is usually expressed logarithmically as the ratio Braid — A group of textile or metallic filaments polyethylene, consists of individual closed
of the original and decreased signal amplitudes. interwoven to form a tubular flexible structure cells of inert gas suspended in a polyethylene
It is usually expressed in decibels (dB). which may be applied over one or more wires medium. The result is a desirable reduction
or flattened to form a strap. of the dielectric constant compared to solid
AWG — American Wire Gage. A wire diameter polyethylene, which decreases attenuation
specification. The smaller the AWG number, Braid Angle — The angle between a strand of and increases the velocity of propagation.
the larger the wire diameter. wire in a braid shield and the longitudinal axis
(i.e., axis along the length of the center) of the Center-to-Center Distance — Also called
AWM — Appliance Wiring Material. A UL pitch. Nominal distance from center-to-center
designation for a type of wire. cable it is wound around. of adjacent conductors within a cable. When
Breakdown Voltage — The voltage at which conductors are flat, pitch is usually measured
Balanced Line — A cable having two
identical conductors which carry voltages the insulation between two conductors will from the reference edge of a conductor to the
fail and allow electricity to conduct or “arc.” reference edge of the adjacent conductor.
opposite in polarity, but equal in magnitude
with respect to ground, suitable for Breakout — The point at which elements of Characteristic Impedance — In a transmission
differential signal transmission. a cable are separated from a multiconductor cable of infinite length, the ratio of the applied
or fiber optic cable. Also called fanout. voltage to the resultant current at the point
Bandwidth — The difference between the
upper and lower limits of a given band of Broadband — The technique used to multiplex the voltage is applied. Or the impedance which Technical Information
frequencies. It is expressed in Hertz. The multiple networks on a single cable without makes a transmission cable seem infinitely
range of frequencies that a transmitted interfering with each other. Technologies that long, when connected across the cable’s
communications signal occupies or that a allow you to transmit or receive higher volumes output terminals.
receiving system can accept. For example, of data at higher speeds.
it takes more bandwidth to download a

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