Why braided wire is used in control cables instead of plain wire?

Question

Why braided wire is used in control cables instead of plain wire?

Answer 1

Simply put, strength and flexibility. While one thick strand would be very strong, it would have limits to it's flexibility. Think of it this way, with string instead of wire. When you see a boat/ship tied to a dock, do you see one big piece of string, or a rope, made up of many strands of string?

Answer 2

Do you mean the outer sheath braid? Like coax? Or do you mean multiple strands? Multiple strand is used for flexibility and coax sheath is used for shielding. Also, hollow cable is used in certain applications as depending on the frequency it may not travel trough the centre of the conductor, instead it travels along the outer part.

Answer 3

Braided wire will flex, where cable is stiff and has a problem flexing.