Why are copper wires usually covered with rubber or plastic?

Copper wires are usually used to conduct electricity. If a bare wire is used, anything touching that wire could possibly provide another path for the current to take. If you went through the trouble of making something out of wire, that's probably not what you want. So, rubber or plastic is used to “keep the electricity in”. read more

Copper wires are usually used to conduct electricity. If a bare wire is used, anything touching that wire could possibly provide another path for the current to take. read more

The electrical terminology for this covering is the wire's"insulation". These days most electrical wires are covered with a flexible plastic (rubber starts with the sap from a rubber tree; plastic usually starts with a petroleum base). Answer The main purpose of the"cover" (insulation) is to keep the wire from shorting to other objects. read more

All electrical power wires are covered with an insulating material. This is to prevent the potential on the wire from going anywhere except to the load. Electrical connecting wires are covered with plastic to prevent the wire under the covering from shorting out against each other or shorting out to ground. read more

The electrical copper wires are coated in rubber or plastic to ensure that no current is diverted away from where it is intended to go. read more