| P.O.S. | Abbreviation for point-of-sale |
| Pair | 2 insulated wires of a single circuit associated together |
| Pairing | The union of 2 insulated single conductors through twisting |
| PAP | A commonly used term for air core (unfilled) direct burial telephone cable with a corrugated aluminum shield |
| Parallel Cable | Two insulated conductors in parallel in a cable |
| PASP | An air core (unfilled) direct burial telephone cable used in areas subject to rodent attack. It consists of an unfilled cable core, corrugated aluminum shield, corrugated steel tape, flooding compound and polyethylene jacket. |
| Peak voltage | The maximum instantaneous voltage |
| Percent Conductivity | Conductivity of a material expressed as a percentage of that of copper |
| Periodicity | The uniformly spaced variations in the insulating diameter of a transmission cable that result in reflections of a signal, when its wavelength or a multiple thereof is equal to the distance between two diameter variations |
| Permittivity | See dielectric constant |
| Pick | Distance between two adjacent crossover points of braid filaments |
| Pitch | In flat cable, the nominal distance between the index edges of two adjacent conductors |
| Pitch Diameter | Diameter of a circle passing through the center of the conductors in any layer of a multiconductor cable |
| Plastic Deformation | Change in dimensions under load that is not recovered when the load is removed |
| Plasticizer | A chemical agent added to plastics to make them softer and more pliable |
| Plenum | The air return path of a central air handling system, either ductwork or open space over a dropped ceiling |
| Plenum cable | Cable approved by Underwriters Laboratories for installation in plenums without the need for conduit |
| Polyester | Polyethylene terephthalate which is used extensively in the production of a high strength moisture resistant film used as a cable core wrap |
| Polyethylene | A thermoplastic material having the chemical identity of polymerized ethylene |
| Polymer | A substance made of many repeating chemical units of molecules. The term polymer is often used in place of plastic, rubber, or elastomer. |
| Polyolefin | A genetic name for a thermoplastic based upon the unsaturated hydrocarbons known as olefins. When combined with butylene or styrene polymers they form compounds such as polyethylene and polypropylene. |
| Polypropylene | A thermoplastic polymer of propylene |
| Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) | A thermoplastic material composed of polymers of vinyl chloride which may be rigid or elastomeric, depending on specific formulation |
| Porosity | Multiple air voids in an insulation or jacket wall |
| Potting | The sealing of a cable termination or other component with liquid which thermosets into an elastomer |
| Power Factor | The ratio of resistance to impedance. The ratio of the actual power of an alternating current to apparent power. Mathematically, the cosine of the angle between the voltage applied and the current resulting. |
| Primary Insulation | The first layer of nonconductive material applied directly over a conductor |
| Propagation Delay | Time required for a signal to pass from the input to the output of a device |
| Propagation Time | Time required for an electrical wave to travel between two points on a transmission line |
| Pulling Eye | A devise fastened to a cable to which a hook may be attached in order to pull the cable into or from a duct |
| Pulse | A current or voltage that changed abruptly from one value to another and back to the original value in a finite length of time. Used to describe one particular variation in a series of wave motions. |
| Pulse Cable | A type of coaxial cable constructed to transmit repeated high voltage pulses without degradation |
| Pyrometer | See thermocouple Thermometer |
