Final answer:
To determine how many No. 36 gauge wires are needed to make a stranded wire equivalent to a No. 16 gauge, we need to consider the cross-sectional areas. The exact number is not given in the reference but can be calculated using a wire gauge chart or calculator based on AWG standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system, which is a standardized wire gauge system for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire. When combining multiple No. 36 gauge wires to create a wire with an equivalent gauge size of No. 16, it's important to keep in mind that the gauge number increases as the wire diameter decreases.
Since the exact number of strands needed to achieve an equivalent No. 16 gauge wire from No. 36 gauge strands is not provided by the American Wire Gauge (AWG) standard, the exact answer would typically require a wire gauge chart or a calculator that uses the cross-sectional areas of the wires.
However, the relationship between wire gauge and diameter can be understood as a geometric progression, where for every 3 gauge sizes that you go down (or up), the wire's cross-sectional area doubles (or halves). While the exact number of strands required for this specific conversion is not given in the reference material, it may be calculated by an appropriate method or tool that takes into account the cross-sectional area of the wires in question.