What is Coaxial Cable?

Just like a standard power cord you plug into an AC outlet, coaxial cables (sometimes abbreviated as just 'coax') conduct electric current between locations. Your coaxial cable has two conductors and currents are constantly traveling outward on one of the conductors and arriving on the other.

These currents have much higher frequencies than those found in electric lines, which allows them to reverse directions millions and millions of times per second.

Your cable company will send someone to install a cable modem which connects to your computer and to the coaxial cable. The cable modem is the information receiver, and you computer must be connected to it in order for you to surf the web. If you want to run your cable television and you high speed internet connection at the same time, you will need to install a coax cable splitter.

Coaxial Cable, Defined

More technically speaking, a coaxial cable is a certain type of electrical cable, but it is built differently than other electric cables. It has a tubular layer of insulation on the inside that houses an inner conductor. This insulation is usually made of a very flexible, dielectric constant material.

This inner layer is covered and surrounded by a layer of wiring called a shield. It is a fine woven layer or sometimes made of thinner foil, but it is conductive. This layer is then covered by another insulating layer on the outside, usually made of rubber, plastic, or some other standard insulator.

The coaxial cable is so named because of the inner workings. The inner conductive layer and the shield around the inside insulator both share a common geometric axis. This type of cable was actually developed a long time ago, back in 1880. It was patented by Oliver Heaviside, who was an English mathematician and engineer. 

These cables are mainly used to transmit radio frequency signals from one point to another. For example, you would use a length of this cable, with the appropriate ends, to transmit a radio signal from the transmitter to the receiver. But, the cables can also be used for computer networks, and even cable television.

Since the construction of these cables allows for them to be run alongside metal without interference, they are ideal for such uses as home computer networks and cable tv because they can be run along guttering or other metal without getting interference or suffering power losses.

There are other shield cables in use out there today, but they are not the same as a coaxial cable. The other cables are generally used for carrying frequency signals at a lower frequency, like audio signals.