It’s uncertain how long wire has been used for, but some of the first recorded references to it are in Biblical text.
Since then, wire has become an integral part of day to day living in the 21st century, with uses spanning from domestic electrical wiring to structural architecture.
If you want to find out more about how wire is used in commercial and domestic use, read on for our selection of top facts about wire.
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Copper Wire is Highly Desirable Globally
Copper wire has a number of desirable properties including a high melting point and high conductivity. This makes it the perfect material of choice for a large selection of industries including aviation, electronics, and construction.
To be used for industrial purposes, copper wire must be around 99% pure to be effective in its use for conducting electrical currents.
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The Golden Gate Bridge is a Haven of Wire
The Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937, and uses the largest bridge cables in the world. In total, it is made up of more than 27,500 strands of wire, which could encircle the world more than three times around the equator line.
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Cars Carry More Wire than You Think
If you were to stretch out the length of all the wire contained in an American built car, it would stretch for nearly a mile and usually consists of around 1,500 copper wires.
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Wire Puppets Can Contain Electrical Signals
The wire puppets used for the smash hit show Thunderbirds contained wires carrying electrical signals to control the puppet’s hands and mouths. The company who built them, Ormiston Wire, used darkened wire to make them as invisible as possible.
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Wire Jewellery is an Ancient Egyptian Art
The use of wire in jewellery was historically used in Ancient Egypt by pulling metal strips through perforations in stone beads to form tubes. This was known as wire drawing, and produced designs that inspire jewellery designs in today’s modern era.
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Wires Come in Different Shapes
Although wires normally come in a cylindrical shape, they can also be square, hexagonal or rectangular depending on their intended purpose. Most wire of these shapes can be used for art and design purposes, with many sculptures being created from creatively shaped wire.
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The Slinky Relies on Science for Fun
The iconic Slinky Toy, founded by Richard T. James in 1943 was a hit children’s toy based on the use of Hooke’s Law and the effects of gravitational force. This means the Slinky could “walk” across surfaces from a descending height.
The original Slinky design was created with 98 coils of high carbon steel wire, with very little variation on this statement design today.
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The Longest Telephone Cable in the World
The longest telephone cable in the world is a submarine cable that stretches around 16,000 miles around the globe. Running from the United Kingdom to Japan, it can hold around 60,000 calls every minute.
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The Pentagon’s Telephone Lines
As one of the highest profile buildings in the world, the Pentagon uses around 100,000 miles of telephone wire to field around 200,000 calls everyday.
Do you know any interesting facts about wire? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
