Wire

Laboratory wire is sold bare on reels for building circuits and running resistance experiments. Copper carries current with almost no loss, which is what makes it the connecting wire. Nichrome and constantan resist current instead, so they heat up or drop voltage in a controlled way.

Sold by weight rather than by the metre. Gauge is quoted in SWG, where a higher number means thinner wire and far more metres on the same reel.

  • Copper Bare Wire

    Copper Bare Wire

    • Lab and Research
    Only 9 left
    R 300.00
    R 300.00
  • Enamelled Copper Wire

    Enamelled Copper Wire

    • Lab and Research
    49 in stock
    R 325.00
    R 325.00
  • Nichrome Bare Wire 10 Meters

    Nichrome Bare Wire 10 Meters

    23 in stock
    From R 40.00
    From R 40.00
  • Wire. Bare. Nichrome

    Nichrome Wire - Bare

    • Lab and Research
    45 in stock
    R 200.00
    R 200.00
Reels of copper, nichrome and enamelled copper wire on a school physics bench

What is laboratory wire?

Three metals do three different jobs. Bare copper has very low resistance, so it carries current between components without heating up or dropping voltage. Nichrome has high resistance and a high melting point, which is why it glows rather than melts in a heating element. Eureka, also sold as constantan, holds its resistance steady as it warms, so readings stay consistent through a long experiment.

Enamelled copper is the exception. The coating insulates it, which is what lets you wind hundreds of turns into a coil or electromagnet without the turns shorting against each other.

Common uses of laboratory wire

Where each metal earns its place.

  • Bare copper wire connecting a simple circuit with a battery holder, switch and lit bulb

    Building Simple Circuits

    Bare copper is the connecting wire in a circuit board kit. Its resistance is low enough to ignore, so whatever the bulb or resistor does is down to the component and not the wire feeding it.

  • Constantan resistance wire on a metre rule with crocodile clips, ammeter and voltmeter

    Resistance Experiments

    Eureka constantan is the standard choice for Ohm's law work. Its resistance barely shifts as it warms, so a reading taken at the end of a run matches the one taken at the start.

  • Nichrome wire coil glowing on a ceramic base, connected to a bench power supply

    Heating Elements

    Nichrome resists current hard enough to glow, and has a melting point high enough to survive it. That combination is why it is used in element coils, hot wire cutters and flame test loops.

  • Enamelled copper wire wound on an iron nail forming an electromagnet holding paper clips

    Coils and Electromagnets

    Enamelled copper winds into tight multi-turn coils without shorting, because the enamel insulates each turn. That is what makes an electromagnet, a solenoid or a simple transformer possible.

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