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AWG Wire Sizes (see chart below)
AWG: In the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system, wire size diameters can be calculated by applying the formula D(AWG)=.005·92((36-AWG)/39) inch. For the 00, 000, 0000 etc. gauges you use -1, -2, -3, which makes more sense mathematically than "double nought." This means that in American wire gage every 6 gauge decrease gives a doubling of the wire diameter, and every 3 gauge decrease doubles the wire cross sectional area. Similar to dB in signal and power levels. An approximate but accurate enough form of this formula contributed by Mario Rodriguez is D = .460 * (57/64)(awg +3) or D = .460 * (0.890625)(awg +3).
Metric Wire Gauges (see table below)
Metric Gauge:In the Metric Gauge scale, the gauge is 10 times the diameter in millimeters,so a 50 gauge metric wire would be 5 mm in diameter. Note that in AWG thediameter goes up as the gauge goes down, but for metric gauges it is theopposite. Probably because of this confusion, most of the time metric sizedwire is specified in millimeters rather than metric gauges.Load Carrying Capacities (see table below)
Definition: ampacity is the current carryingcapability of a wire. In other words, how many amps can it transmit? Thefollowing chart is a guideline of ampacity or copper wire current carryingcapacity following the Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas forAmerican Wire Gauge. As you might guess, the rated ampacities are just arule of thumb. In careful engineering the voltage drop, insulationtemperature limit, thickness, thermal conductivity, and air convection andtemperature should all be taken into account. The Maximum Amps for PowerTransmission uses the 700 circular mils per amp rule, which is very veryconservative. The Maximum Amps for Chassis Wiring is also a conservativerating, but is meant for wiring in air, and not in a bundle. For short lengthsof wire, such as is used in battery packs you should trade off the resistanceand load with size, weight, and flexibility. NOTE: For installations that needto conform to the National Electrical Code, you must use their guidelines.Contact your local electrician to find out what is legal!Maximum Frequency for 100% Skin Depth Chart
This data isuseful for high frequency AC engineering. When high frequency AC is conductedby a wire there is a tendency for the current to flow along the outside of thewire. This increases the effective resistance. The frequency listed in thetable shows the frequency at which the calculated skin depth is equal to theradius of the wire, and is an indication that above this frequency you shouldstart considering the skin effect when calculating the wire's resistance.Breaking Force for Copper Wire
This estimate is based on nick-free soft annealed Cu wire having a tensile strength of 37000 pounds per square inch.
AWG gauge | Conductor Diameter Inches | Conductor Diameter mm | Conductor cross section in mm2 | Ohms per 1000 ft. | Ohms per km | Maximum amps for chassis wiring | Maximum amps for power transmission | Maximum frequency for 100% skin depth for solid conductor copper | Breaking force Soft Annealed Cu 37000 PSI |
0000 | 0.46 | 11.684 | 107 | 0.049 | 0.16072 | 380 | 302 | 125 Hz | 6120 lbs |
000 | 0.4096 | 10.40384 | 84.9 | 0.0618 | 0.202704 | 328 | 239 | 160 Hz | 4860 lbs |
00 | 0.3648 | 9.26592 | 67.4 | 0.0779 | 0.255512 | 283 | 190 | 200 Hz | 3860 lbs |
0 | 0.3249 | 8.25246 | 53.5 | 0.0983 | 0.322424 | 245 | 150 | 250 Hz | 3060 lbs |
1 | 0.2893 | 7.34822 | 42.4 | 0.1239 | 0.406392 | 211 | 119 | 325 Hz | 2430 lbs |
2 | 0.2576 | 6.54304 | 33.6 | 0.1563 | 0.512664 | 181 | 94 | 410 Hz | 1930 lbs |
3 | 0.2294 | 5.82676 | 26.7 | 0.197 | 0.64616 | 158 | 75 | 500 Hz | 1530 lbs |
4 | 0.2043 | 5.18922 | 21.1 | 0.2485 | 0.81508 | 135 | 60 | 650 Hz | 1210 lbs |
5 | 0.1819 | 4.62026 | 16.8 | 0.3133 | 1.027624 | 118 | 47 | 810 Hz | 960 lbs |
6 | 0.162 | 4.1148 | 13.3 | 0.3951 | 1.295928 | 101 | 37 | 1100 Hz | 760 lbs |
7 | 0.1443 | 3.66522 | 10.6 | 0.4982 | 1.634096 | 89 | 30 | 1300 Hz | 605 lbs |
8 | 0.1285 | 3.2639 | 8.37 | 0.6282 | 2.060496 | 73 | 24 | 1650 Hz | 480 lbs |
9 | 0.1144 | 2.90576 | 6.63 | 0.7921 | 2.598088 | 64 | 19 | 2050 Hz | 380 lbs |
10 | 0.1019 | 2.58826 | 5.26 | 0.9989 | 3.276392 | 55 | 15 | 2600 Hz | 314 lbs |
11 | 0.0907 | 2.30378 | 4.17 | 1.26 | 4.1328 | 47 | 12 | 3200 Hz | 249 lbs |
12 | 0.0808 | 2.05232 | 3.31 | 1.588 | 5.20864 | 41 | 9.3 | 4150 Hz | 197 lbs |
13 | 0.072 | 1.8288 | 2.63 | 2.003 | 6.56984 | 35 | 7.4 | 5300 Hz | 150 lbs |
14 | 0.0641 | 1.62814 | 2.08 | 2.525 | 8.282 | 32 | 5.9 | 6700 Hz | 119 lbs |
15 | 0.0571 | 1.45034 | 1.65 | 3.184 | 10.44352 | 28 | 4.7 | 8250 Hz | 94 lbs |
16 | 0.0508 | 1.29032 | 1.31 | 4.016 | 13.17248 | 22 | 3.7 | 11 k Hz | 75 lbs |
17 | 0.0453 | 1.15062 | 1.04 | 5.064 | 16.60992 | 19 | 2.9 | 13 k Hz | 59 lbs |
18 | 0.0403 | 1.02362 | 0.823 | 6.385 | 20.9428 | 16 | 2.3 | 17 kHz | 47 lbs |
19 | 0.0359 | 0.91186 | 0.653 | 8.051 | 26.40728 | 14 | 1.8 | 21 kHz | 37 lbs |
20 | 0.032 | 0.8128 | 0.519 | 10.15 | 33.292 | 11 | 1.5 | 27 kHz | 29 lbs |
21 | 0.0285 | 0.7239 | 0.412 | 12.8 | 41.984 | 9 | 1.2 | 33 kHz | 23 lbs |
22 | 0.0253 | 0.64516 | 0.327 | 16.14 | 52.9392 | 7 | 0.92 | 42 kHz | 18 lbs |
23 | 0.0226 | 0.57404 | 0.259 | 20.36 | 66.7808 | 4.7 | 0.729 | 53 kHz | 14.5 lbs |
24 | 0.0201 | 0.51054 | 0.205 | 25.67 | 84.1976 | 3.5 | 0.577 | 68 kHz | 11.5 lbs |
25 | 0.0179 | 0.45466 | 0.162 | 32.37 | 106.1736 | 2.7 | 0.457 | 85 kHz | 9 lbs |
26 | 0.0159 | 0.40386 | 0.128 | 40.81 | 133.8568 | 2.2 | 0.361 | 107 kHz | 7.2 lbs |
27 | 0.0142 | 0.36068 | 0.102 | 51.47 | 168.8216 | 1.7 | 0.288 | 130 kHz | 5.5 lbs |
28 | 0.0126 | 0.32004 | 0.080 | 64.9 | 212.872 | 1.4 | 0.226 | 170 kHz | 4.5 lbs |
29 | 0.0113 | 0.28702 | 0.0647 | 81.83 | 268.4024 | 1.2 | 0.182 | 210 kHz | 3.6 lbs |
30 | 0.01 | 0.254 | 0.0507 | 103.2 | 338.496 | 0.86 | 0.142 | 270 kHz | 2.75 lbs |
31 | 0.0089 | 0.22606 | 0.0401 | 130.1 | 426.728 | 0.7 | 0.113 | 340 kHz | 2.25 lbs |
32 | 0.008 | 0.2032 | 0.0324 | 164.1 | 538.248 | 0.53 | 0.091 | 430 kHz | 1.8 lbs |
Metric 2.0 | 0.00787 | 0.200 | 0.0314 | 169.39 | 555.61 | 0.51 | 0.088 | 440 kHz | |
33 | 0.0071 | 0.18034 | 0.0255 | 206.9 | 678.632 | 0.43 | 0.072 | 540 kHz | 1.3 lbs |
Metric 1.8 | 0.00709 | 0.180 | 0.0254 | 207.5 | 680.55 | 0.43 | 0.072 | 540 kHz | |
34 | 0.0063 | 0.16002 | 0.0201 | 260.9 | 855.752 | 0.33 | 0.056 | 690 kHz | 1.1 lbs |
Metric 1.6 | 0.0063 | 0.16002 | 0.0201 | 260.9 | 855.752 | 0.33 | 0.056 | 690 kHz | |
35 | 0.0056 | 0.14224 | 0.0159 | 329 | 1079.12 | 0.27 | 0.044 | 870 kHz | 0.92 lbs |
Metric 1.4 | .00551 | .140 | 0.0154 | 339 | 1114 | 0.26 | 0.043 | 900 kHz | |
36 | 0.005 | 0.127 | 0.0127 | 414.8 | 1360 | 0.21 | 0.035 | 1100 kHz | 0.72 lbs |
Metric 1.25 | .00492 | 0.125 | 0.0123 | 428.2 | 1404 | 0.20 | 0.034 | 1150 kHz | |
37 | 0.0045 | 0.1143 | 0.0103 | 523.1 | 1715 | 0.17 | 0.0289 | 1350 kHz | 0.57 lbs |
Metric 1.12 | .00441 | 0.112 | 0.00985 | 533.8 | 1750 | 0.163 | 0.0277 | 1400 kHz | |
38 | 0.004 | 0.1016 | 0.00811 | 659.6 | 2163 | 0.13 | 0.0228 | 1750 kHz | 0.45 lbs |
Metric 1 | .00394 | 0.1000 | 0.00785 | 670.2 | 2198 | 0.126 | 0.0225 | 1750 kHz | |
39 | 0.0035 | 0.0889 | 0.00621 | 831.8 | 2728 | 0.11 | 0.0175 | 2250 kHz | 0.36 lbs |
40 | 0.0031 | 0.07874 | 0.00487 | 1049 | 3440 | 0.09 | 0.0137 | 2900 kHz | 0.29 lbs |
The following calculator calculates the voltage drop, and voltageat the end of the wire for American Wire Gauge from 4/0 AWG to 30 AWG, aluminumor copper wire. (Note: It just calculates the voltage drop, consult the abovetable for rules-of-thumb, or your local or national electrical code or yourelectrician to decide what is legal!) Note that the voltage drop does notdepend on the input voltage, just on the resistance of the wire and the load inamps. |
This chart of American Wire Gauge (AWG) wire sizes and rated ampacities is data intended for the pleasure of our readers only. Typographical errors, etc. are probable, since the typist is not a professional (our CEO). Please point out errors. The data listed are incomplete and should be used as a guideline only. Please contact manufacturers for the latest data.
We hope that this information is helpful. Now go out and design something that needs a charger, power supply, or battery pack!