The Coax Cable

• The coax cable is composed of an insulated wire with a layer of insulation, a "ground" wire (earth ground) and an outer coating. The television signal travels along the insulated wire between the antenna or cable box to the television or its peripherals (DVD players, video games)--and between the television and its peripherals.
  
  

The Circuit

• The signal travels along the wire unless the circuit it broken. An example is having two cables that aren't individually long enough to connect to devices. If you joined the two with a splitter or coupler, the circuit would be complete and the signal could complete the circuit. When you apply the splitter, it is a part of a circuit and must be tightly secured to the coax ends for the best conductivity and the best signal quality.
  
  

Splitting

• The splitter cuts the signal in half so that two devices can share data from one source. The splitter is a fork in the circuit's road. The electrons that make up the television signal are like water droplets in a flow, rushing through a pipe. The electrons are impartial and fork evenly, sending the signal through both outputs on the splitter.
  
  

Amplified Split

• Amplification is necessary for splitters that offer a large number of outputs. The signal is amplified by an AC power source. The boost from the power source gives each device using the splitter a much stronger signal.