Coaxial cables are a popular choice because their shielded design allows the centre conductor to transmit data quickly while being
protected from damage and interference.
Coaxial cables are mainly built up of these four different layers:
1. A centre conductor which is usually a copper wire, which data and video travels through
2. Surrounding the copper wire is a dielectric plastic insulator
3. A braided mesh made from copper then helps to shield the cable from electromagnetic interference (EMI)
4. The external layer is a plastic coating which protects the internal layers from damage
Coaxial cable works by carrying data in the centre conductor, while the surrounding layers of shielding stop any signal loss (also
called attenuation loss) and help reduce EMI.
The first layer, called the dielectric, provides distance between the core conductor and the outer layers, as well as some
insulation.
The next layers, collectively referred to as the shield, keep electrical impulses and radio transmissions out. The different
layers of a coaxial cable are shown in the image below:
