CONDUCTORS

An electrical conductor is any material that conducts

electrical current.

A wire is a common electrical conductor.

Most conductors used in building applications are

classified according to a wire gauge standard, and on the
cross-sectional area of the wire in units called circular
mils.
• Diameters are measured in thousands of an inch, or mils.

• If the diameter of the wire is in mils, then the area in

circular mils is:

A mil is equal to 1/1000 inch, so one circular mil (cmil) is equal to

the cross-sectional area of a 0.001 in diameter circle.
dmil
2
𝐴𝐶𝑀 = 𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑙

𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑑 = 3𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑠,
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴 = 9 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑙 (𝐶𝑀)
• Small- and medium-gauge electrical conductors used as wiring in
buildings are typically categorized by the American Wire Gauge
(AWG).

• The AWG number (No.) of a conductor is inversely proportional

to the cross-section diameter of the wire—that is, a smaller gauge
number identifies a thicker wire.
AWG The following table applies to bare copper wire only:
End