How to distinguish conductor materials

First, observe the cross-section

Wires and cables with larger sections only need to cut the section, and if you see whitish, it is likely to be copper-clad aluminum.

2. Fire

Burn the conductor with a lighter, observe the combustion phenomenon and combustion results, and also identify some conductor materials.

Copper-clad aluminum or aluminum-magnesium wire, when the flame touches the wire, the conductor will sag, not easy to burn, and the color after burning is gray or more black;

Copper-clad aluminum will become brittle and easy to break after burning, and it will break into multiple knots when twisted with fingers;

If it is oxygen-free pure copper, the finer one will melt to form spherical copper beads, and the coarser one is still as it is.

3. Tool testing

The tinned copper wire appears yellow after scratching, which is copper;

The oxygen-free pure copper surface is still the primary color after scratching;

However, snowflake white spots will appear after scratching of copper-clad aluminum wire or copper-clad aluminum magnesium wire;

The oxygen-free copper of the copper-clad steel skin and the inner brass are also difficult to distinguish easily with the naked eye after scratching with a blade;

Copper-clad steel can be identified with magnets.