Editing Wire (section)

{{short description|Single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or bar or rod of metal}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
[[file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg|thumb|Overhead [[power cabling]]. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm]]

A '''wire''' is a flexible, round bar of [[metal]]. Wires are commonly formed by [[drawing (manufacturing)|drawing]] the metal through a hole in a [[Die (manufacturing)|die]] or [[draw plate]]. [[Wire gauge]]s come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a [[American wire gauge|gauge number]] or [[IEC 60228|cross-sectional area]].

Wires are used to bear mechanical [[Structural load|load]]s, often in the form of [[wire rope]]. In [[electricity]] and [[Signal (electronics)|telecommunications signals]], ''wire'' can refer to [[electrical cable]], which can contain a solid core of a single wire or separate strands in stranded or braided forms.

Usually [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]] in geometry, wire can also be made in square, hexagonal, flattened rectangular, or other cross-sections, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency [[voice coil]]s in [[loudspeaker]]s. Edge-wound [[coil spring]]s, such as the [[Slinky]] toy, are made of special flattened wire.<ref name=SwigerCoil>{{cite web|last=Swiger Coil Systems|title=Edgewound Coils|url=http://www.swigercoil.com/edge-wound-Coils_edge-bent-coils.asp|publisher=Swiger Coil Systems, A Wabtec Company|access-date=1 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219053052/http://swigercoil.com/edge-wound-Coils_edge-bent-coils.asp|archive-date=19 December 2010}}</ref>