Electrical resistors

08/14/16

“What causes electrical resistance?”

 

When working with circuits, you have probably read about how resistance causes a current to slow down. However, what causes this resistance, and how does it work?

Well, these items are simply called resistors. Resistors are simple by construction, being only a ceramic round surrounded by a winding of copper. Resistors are able to causes an impedance to current flow by dissipating power, with the power loss being equal to the square of the current times the resistance, which can be represented analytically as P=I^2*R. Some resistors actually have an adjustable resistance. The surrounding heat can have adverse effects on the resistivity of a resistor, however, some resistors are designed to apply this heat for their daily functioning.