Interactive macro CT scans of USB-C cables

[rjlittlefield]

This one blows my mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD5aAd8Oy84
"Why Is Apple's USB-C Cable $130?" on Adam Savage's Tested channel
Apple's new Thunderbolt 4 USB-C cable costs a staggering $130, more than ten times the price of a generic USB-C cable. But what's the difference between Thunderbolt and USB-C? Adam is joined by electrical engineer Zach Radding to examine Lumafield's CT scans of Apple's cable as well as three non-Thunderbolt USB-C cables to understand the engineering and components that make up these cables.

It turns out that Apple's Thunderbolt cable contains elaborate processors inside the connector blocks, while the other cables are just wires and connectors. That fact, combined with the imaging technology that lets us see it, is what I find amazing.

The YouTube page contains links to viewers at Lumafield's site, where you can interactively play around with the 3D CT scans.

Here is a screengrab from 4:51 of the YouTube video.

And here, a screengrab from my playing at Lumafield's site, showing a different view of the same structure.

The entire video is 21:52, plus whatever time I spent playing with the scans and preparing this post. I consider it time well spent.

--Rik

[CrispyBee]

Well that's because it's a Thunderbolt (4?) cable vs USB-C cables comparison.

Thunderbolt cables from other manufactures will have a similar (if not the same) processor etc built-in and are also more expensive - of course they're not "as" expensive as the ones Apple sells. But the standards have to be the same.

But it's a very interesting video and always a pleasure to see Adam Savage ;D