About this interactive
The parts the lesson points out on a twisted pair cable:
- **Jacket:** the outer covering, as on coax.
- **Rip cord:** a thread that slices the jacket lengthwise when pulled, to strip a long section quickly.
- **Shield:** on shielded twisted pair (STP) only; unshielded (UTP) is more common. A bare, uninsulated wire runs along the shield and is grounded at the rack.
- **Core:** a plus-shaped piece in some cables that keeps the four pairs apart.
- **Pairs:** eight conductors in four pairs, each a solid color with a white-striped partner: orange, green, blue, brown. Each wire has its own insulation around its copper conductor. Both wires of a pair carry the signal together; the twist cancels interference.
- **RJ45:** registered jack 45, the connector that terminates the cable, with a clip that clicks into the jack.
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