What property characterizes a material's ability to be drawn into a wire?

The ability of a material to be drawn into a wire is characterized by its ductility. Ductility refers to the extent to which a material can undergo significant plastic deformation before fracture. This property is crucial for processes such as wire drawing, where a material is pulled through a die to reduce its diameter and increase its length.

Ductile materials can be stretched into thin wires without breaking, making them ideal for applications where flexibility and tensile strength are required. Metals such as copper and aluminum, known for their high ductility, are commonly used in wire manufacturing because they can easily be shaped and drawn into long lengths without losing structural integrity.

In contrast, tensile strength measures the maximum amount of tensile (pulling) stress a material can withstand before failure, but does not inherently describe the material's ability to be continuously drawn into a thinner shape. The endurance limit relates to a material's ability to endure varying cyclic loads without failing, while thermal conductivity refers to how well a material can conduct heat, neither of which directly pertain to wire drawing capabilities.