As my philosophy professor once told me, logic is a fickle thing. What we often think makes perfect sense never actually does. Those who’ve toiled with justice, love, and the American Wire Gauge system know exactly what I’m talking about. But no worries; Quail Electronics will explain it all, from wire gauge to the right amperage. In a previous post, I addressed how the larger the AWG number, the smaller the wire actually is. This also influences how much amperage is allowed through a wire.
Firstly, we’ll take a brief course in Electricity 101 for those who may have dozed off in your electrical courses. Amperage, or amps, refer to the safe amount of current a wire can handle. The wire gauge is how large the diameter is. The American Wire Gauge number is determined by how many times the wire has to pass through the drawing dies. A drawing die is a tool used to shape the wires. The larger it is, the less times the wire would have to go through the drawing die. Still with me? Good.
As the American Wire Gauge (or as I like to colloquially call it, AWG) number increases, the actually diameter of the wire decreases. If the American Wire Gauge number is a huge, we know the actually wire diameter will be very, very small. Therefore, if the wire is very, very small, it probably can’t handle a lot of amperage. Think of it as a pipe. The smaller the diameter of the pipe, the less water can pass through. Amperage is the water of electricity. QED.
If you are looking for a wire that can support a lot of current, you will look for a high amperage, and a smaller AWG number. If someone tries to trick you into thinking that you need a huge AWG and a huge amount of amps, just say no! You’ve taken Clark Cable’s crash course in Philo-Electricity, and know that AWG and amperage are inversely related!
If you want more information on wires, feel free to contact our Sales department here at Quail Electronics. We have a wonderful selection of wires, just waiting for you!
By Clark Cable
Clark enjoyed philosophy thoroughly in college, even picking it up as a major. Some of his best papers included Elec-topia, Beyond Wires and Amps, and The Trial and Death of Electricities. His philosophy professor’s favorite quote from Clark was “The ungrounded plug is not worth wiring.”