What is the difference between solid and stranded cables?

Solid Core Cable - This type of cable uses one solid wire per conductor, the cable is less flexible than stranded cable and is used for premises cabling or long patch cables

Stranded Cable - This consists of multiple strands of wires wrapped around each other in each conductor; it is often used in patch cables due to its flexibility

Note: stranded cable has a higher attenuation and therefore it is not suitable for long runs. Exactly what the length is varies between the different category types, and depends on the required bandwidth.