"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
AJB wrote:

In article .com,
says...

p wrote:
But 1.5 mm by two is a 3mm.
No. The measurement is the diameter of the core, but the current
carrying capacity is related to the cross-sectional area.


I think you're wrong. The measurement _is_ the cross-sectional area
i.e
1.5mm^2

That is correct. A 2.5mm cable actually means a cross-section of 2.5
*square* mm - *not* a diameter of 2.5mm - so 2 x 1.5 *does* equal 3!

[One might be forgiven for believing that a 2.5(sq)mm cable was 2.5mm in
diameter because it's relatively close to that - at about 1.8mm. However,
the difference is very obvious with larger cables. For example, a 10
(sq)mm
cable has a diameter of only about 3.6mm.]
--
Cheers,
Set Square

Just pointing out that instead of typing 1.5mm^2 or 1.5(sq)mm you can type ²
by holding down the Alt key while typing 253 on the number pad on the right
of the keyboard like this: 1.5mm². 252 is cubed ³, 248 is degrees ° and 171
is ½. There's lots more.