Definition
Two insulated electrical wires twisted around each other along their length to reduce electrical noise and interference. The twisting causes electromagnetic fields induced in the two wires to cancel each other out, keeping the signal carried inside cleaner.
Plain English
Two insulated wires wound around each other in a spiral. The twisting helps block stray electrical noise from messing with the signal travelling through them.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft wiring, especially for radio, audio, instrument, and other electronic signal circuits.
Why Pilots Care
Maintains clean signal transmission between radios, navigation equipment, and flight instruments despite the dense electrical environment of an aircraft.
Intuition Check
A twisted pair is not a pair of wires that became twisted by accident. The twist is intentional and helps protect the circuit from unwanted electrical noise.
Example Sentence 1
The audio panel is connected to the headset jacks using a shielded twisted pair to keep engine noise out of the intercom.
Example Sentence 2
During the preflight check the pilot noticed the intercom was noisy and traced the problem to a chafed twisted pair in the headset jack wiring.