what is coaxial cable

what is coaxial cable

A coaxial cable consists of a stiff copper wire as the core, surrounded by an insulating material. The insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor, often as a closely woven braided mesh. The outer conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath.

Uses

Coaxial cable has been perhaps the most versatile transmission medium and is enjoying utilization in a wide variety of applications. 

The most important of these are :
♦ Long-distance telephone and television transmission
♦ Television distribution
♦ Local area networks
♦ Short-run system links.

Coaxial cable is used to transmit both analog and digital signals. Coaxial cable has superior frequency characteristics to twisted pair, and can hence be used effectively at higher frequencies and data rates.

For long-distance transmission of analog signals, amplifiers are needed every few kilometers, with closer spacing requirement if higher frequencies are used. The usable spectrum for analog signaling extends to about 400 MHz. For digital signaling, repeaters are needed every kilometers or so, with closer spacing needed for higher data rates. On experimental systems, data rates as high as 800 Mbps have been achieved with a repeater spacing of 1.6 km.

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