1-7
Wire is manufactured in sizes numbered according to the AWG tables. The various wires (solid or
stranded) and the material they are made from (copper, aluminum, and so forth) are published by the
National Bureau of Standards. An AWG table for copper wire is shown at table 1-2. The wire diameters
become smaller as the gauge numbers become larger. Numbers are rounded off for convenience but are
accurate for practical application. The largest wire size shown in the table is 0000 (read "4 naught"), and
the smallest is number 40. Larger and smaller sizes are manufactured, but are not commonly used by the
Navy. AWG tables show the diameter in mils, circular mil area, and area in square inches of AWG wire
sizes. They also show the resistance (ohms) per thousand feet and per mile of wire sizes at specific
temperatures. The last column shows the weight of the wire per thousand feet. An example of the use of
table 1-2 is as follows.
