Twisted pair

A cable arrangement in which two insulated conductors are twisted together to reduce electromagnetic interference and signal crosstalk.

Differential signaling: A method that encodes information as the voltage difference between two conductors. Twisted-pair links commonly carry signals whose shared interference is rejected by differential receivers.
Ethernet: A family of wired networking technologies used to connect devices in local area networks. Twisted pair is the standard medium for many copper Ethernet links.
Coaxial cable: A cable with a central conductor surrounded by insulation and a conductive outer shield. Its continuous shield offers a different approach to interference control.
Transmission line: A structure that guides electromagnetic energy between a source and a load. A twisted pair behaves as a transmission line when signal changes are sufficiently fast.
Alexander Graham Bell: An inventor associated with the development and patenting of the telephone. Bell's telephone work helped create demand for practical paired-wire circuits.
Common-mode rejection: The ability of a circuit to suppress signals that appear equally on two inputs. It removes noise induced similarly in both twisted conductors.
Category 5 cable: A performance-rated twisted-pair cable standard used for data communications. It is an early widely deployed category for Ethernet over twisted pair.
Fiber-optic cable: A cable that carries information as light through glass or plastic fibers. It avoids electrical interference but requires optical transmitters and receivers.
Characteristic impedance: The voltage-to-current ratio of a traveling wave on a transmission line. Twisted-pair systems are designed around a specified impedance to limit reflections.
Telephone exchange: A system that connects telephone subscribers through switching equipment. Growing exchange networks made interference and crosstalk on wire routes pressing problems.

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