Thermax | Glossary

dB Loss - The relative loss of a signal in a conductor expressed in decibels.

D.C. - Abbreviation for direct current.

Decibel (dB) - Unit to express ratio differences of power level. Used to express power gain in amplifiers or power loss in passive circuits or cables.

Delay Line - A cable or component made to provide an electrical delay for transmitted signals.

Denier - A term that describes the weight of a yarn (not cotton or spun rayon) which in turn determines its physical size.

Dielectric - 1) Any insulating medium which intervenes between two conductors and permits electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it. 2) A material having property that energy required to establish an electric field is recoverable in whole or in part, as electric energy.

Dielectric Absorption - That property of an imperfect dielectric whereby there is an accumulation of electric charges within the body of the material when it is placed in an electric field.

Dielectric Constant (Permittivity or Specific Inductive Capacity) - That property of a dielectric which determines the electrostatic energy stored per unit volume for unit potential gradient. Relative dielectric constant is the ratio of resulting capacitance to the capacitance that would have been present with an air dielectric.

Dielectric Loss - Losses due to electric energy being transformed into heat in a dielectric when it is subjected to a changing electric field.

Dielectric Strength - The voltage which an insulating material can withstand before breakdown occurs, usually expressed as a voltage gradient (such as volts per mil).

Dissipation Factor (loss tangent, tan approx. power factor) - The tangent of the loss angle of the insulating material.

Duplex Cable - A cable composed of two insulated single conductor cables twisted together. (Note: The assembled conductors may or may not have a common covering of binding or protecting materials. See also Parallel Pair.)

Durometer - A measuring device used to denote the hardness of a substance.

Eccentricity - A measure of the center of a conductor's location with respect to the circular cross section of the insulation. Expressed as a percentage of center displacement of one circle within the other.

Elastomer - A material which at room temperature stretches under low stress to at least twice its length and snaps back to original length upon release of stress. (See Rubber.)

Electromotive Force (e.m.f.) - Pressure or voltage. The force which causes current to flow in a circuit.

Electro-Tinned - Electrolytic process of tinning wire using pure tin.

Elongation - The fractional increase in length of a material stressed in tension.

Embossing - A marker identification by means of thermal indentation leaving raised lettering on the sheath material of a cable.

ETP - Abbreviation for Electrolytic Tough Pitch copper. See Copper.

Extrusion - Method of forcing plastic, rubber, or elastomer material through an orifice in more or less continuous fashion to apply insulation or jacketing to conductor or cable.

Farad - Unit of Capacitance. The capacitance of a capacitor which, when charged with one coulomb, gives a difference of potential of one volt.

FEP - Abbreviation for Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene.

Filler - Materials used in multi-conductor cables to occupy the interstices formed by the assembled conductors. Also, a substance, often inert, added to a plastic to improve properties and/or decrease cost.

Flammability - Measure of the material's ability to support combustion.

Flat Braid - A woven braid, usually composed of tinned copper strands, which is rolled flat at time of manufacture to a specific width depending upon construction. It is generally used as a high current conductor at low voltages.

Flex Life - Ability of a conductor, wire, or cable to withstand repeated bending.

Frequency - The number of times an alternating current repeats its cycle in one second.

Gigahertz - A unit of frequency equal to one billion Hertz.

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