23 Facts About Coaxial cable

Coaxial cable is a type of transmission line, used to carry high-frequency electrical signals with low losses.

Coaxial cable was used in the first and following transatlantic cable installations, but its theory was not described until 1880 by English physicist, engineer, and mathematician Oliver Heaviside, who patented the design in that year .

Coaxial cable is used as a transmission line for radio frequency signals.

Coaxial cable provides protection of the signal from external electromagnetic interference.

Coaxial cable conducts electrical signal using an inner conductor surrounded by an insulating layer and all enclosed by a shield, typically one to four layers of woven metallic braid and metallic tape.

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When using differential signaling, coaxial cable provides an advantage of equal push-pull currents on the inner conductor and inside of the outer conductor that restrict the signal's electric and magnetic fields to the dielectric, with little leakage outside the shield.

Further, electric and magnetic fields outside the Coaxial cable are largely kept from interfering with signals inside the Coaxial cable, if unequal currents are filtered out at the receiving end of the line.

Common applications of coaxial cable include video and CATV distribution, RF and microwave transmission, and computer and instrumentation data connections.

Characteristic impedance of the Coaxial cable is determined by the dielectric constant of the inner insulator and the radii of the inner and outer conductors.

In radio frequency systems, where the Coaxial cable length is comparable to the wavelength of the signals transmitted, a uniform Coaxial cable characteristic impedance is important to minimize loss.

The source and load impedances are chosen to match the impedance of the Coaxial cable to ensure maximum power transfer and minimum standing wave ratio.

Coaxial cable is a particular kind of transmission line, so the circuit models developed for general transmission lines are appropriate.

Reflections will be nearly eliminated if the coaxial cable is terminated in a pure resistance equal to its impedance.

Long distance coaxial cable was used in the 20th century to connect radio networks, television networks, and Long Distance telephone networks though this has largely been superseded by later methods .

In 1980s and early 1990s coaxial cable was used in computer networking, most prominently in Ethernet networks, where it was later in late 1990s to early 2000s replaced by UTP cables in North America and STP cables in Western Europe, both with 8P8C modular connectors.

In many cases, the same single coax Coaxial cable carries power in the opposite direction, to the antenna, to power the low-noise amplifier.

Radiating or leaky cable is another form of coaxial cable which is constructed in a similar fashion to hard line, however it is constructed with tuned slots cut into the shield.

Twin-axial Coaxial cable or twinax is a balanced, twisted pair within a cylindrical shield.

Semi-rigid cable is a coaxial form using a solid copper outer sheath.

Conformable cable is a flexible reformable alternative to semi-rigid coaxial cable used where flexibility is required.

Conformable cable can be stripped and formed by hand without the need for specialized tools, similar to standard coaxial cable.

When installed outdoors without protection, the Coaxial cable was affected by UV radiation, which cracked the PVC outer sheath and allowed moisture ingress.

Consequently, despite the higher cost, the RG6 Coaxial cable was dropped in favor of CT100 when Sky launched its digital broadcasts.