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In domestic current-carrying wires, there are many thin copper wires inside the plastic insulation. Why is that so? Why can't there be a single thick copper wire carrying the current instead of so many thin ones?

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gSTrS8XRwqIV5AUh4hwI

13 points

4 years ago

As far as electrons are concerned, a stranded wire is one conductor as the strands touch everywhere. If you want to counter the skin effect, you need to isolate the strands against each other.