What Is A Coaxial Cable And How Is It Used?

coaxial speaker cable

You may have heard the term coaxial cable thrown around when talking to your local cable provider about setting up your TV or router. It’s a standard cable that connects us to the audio, video, and other data we love, and knowing how it’s used can help you connect correctly.

Also known as coax, coaxial cable is an incredibly common type of cable, and it’s used to connect audio and video systems, including radio transmitters, cable television service, and high speed internet. There are a few different types of coaxial cable, and knowing the difference between coaxial speaker cable and the type of coaxial cable used with cable television service will ensure you get the right kind for your application.

What is a coaxial cable?

No matter what type of high speed coax cable you are dealing with, they all share certain characteristics that make them coaxial cable, as opposed to some other kind. The thing that ties coax cables together as a family is the fact that the center conductor and the outer shield share the same axis.

This shared axis is accomplished by the unique construction associated with coax cables. The vast majority of coax cables include the following parts:

Center conductor – The innermost layer of coaxial cable is the center conductor. It’s made of copper, and may be solid or stranded, and may be made of pure copper or be copper coated.

Dielectric insulator – The center conductor is wrapped by a dielectric insulator, usually made of some type of plastic. Its main purpose is to maintain spacing between the center conductor and the shield. 

Foil shield – Coaxial cables may or may not have this component, but it’s fairly common in many cables.

Woven or braided shield – Made of copper or aluminum, this is an essential part of the coaxial cable structure. It shares an axis with the center conductor and shields the cable from interference, as well as prevents leakage to the outside.

Outer jacket – The outer jacket contains and protects the other elements that make up the coaxial cable. 

While there are a number of different types of coaxial cable on the market, each type is constructed similarly and has all the same basic components as the others. Some use cases may require thicker insulation or a different gauge center conductor, but they are still all going to be constructed of those same 4 or 5 elements.