Chapter 26: Current and Resistance

Current and Resistance

• In the last two chapters we discussed electrostatics—the physics of

stationary charges.
• In this chapter we discuss the physics of electric currents—that is,
charges in motion.
• The free electrons (conduction electrons) in an isolated length of
copper wire are in random motion at speeds of the order of 10^6 m/s,
but there is no net transport of charge and thus no current through the
wire. However, if you connect the ends of the wire to a battery, you
slightly bias the flow in one direction, with the result that there is now a
net transport of charge and thus an electric current through the wire.
 Current and Resistance
Thermal motion and collision
• The zig-zagline represents the motion of a charge carrier in a
conductor
• The net drift speed is small
• The sharp changes in direction are due to collisions
• The net motion of electrons is opposite the direction of the
electric field

• Assume you close a switch to turn on a light

• The electrons do not travel from the switch to the bulb.
• The electrons move (in line) in response to the electric field set
up in the completed circuit

The drift speed is on the order of millimeters per seconds

 Current and Resistance
Current: a microscopic view
• Metals are good conductors because they contain free electrons
that aren’t bound to individual atoms (called conduction
electrons).
• When a conductor does not have a current through it, its conduction
electrons move randomly, with no net motion in any direction.

• When the conductor does have a current through it, these electrons actually
still move randomly, but now they tend to drift with a drift speed vd
Current and Resistance

What is current?
• current is the rate at which the charge flows through a surface
• If charge dq passes through a plane in time dt, then the current I
through that plane is defined as:
 Current density
Current density J : the flow of charge through a cross section of the conductor at a
particular point.
Current i (a scalar quantity) is related to current density J (a vector quantity) by

where dA is a vector perpendicular to a surface element of area dA and the integral is taken
over any surface cutting across the conductor. The current density J has the same direction
as the velocity of the moving charges if they are positive charges and the opposite direction
if the moving charges are negative.

Streamlines representing current

density in the flow of charge
through a constricted conductor.

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 Conduction electrons are actually moving to
the right but the conventional current i is said
to move to the left.

• When a conductor does not have a current through it, its conduction electrons
move randomly, with no net motion in any direction. When the conductor does
have a current through it, these electrons actually still move randomly, but now
they tend to drift with a drift speed vd in the direction opposite that of the applied
electric field that causes the current
The drift velocity vd is related to the current density by
• Here the product ne, whose SI unit is the coulomb per cubic meter (C/m3), is the
carrier charge density.
• For positive charges J and v have same directions, for negative charges they have
opposite directions
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Resistance and resistivity
If we apply the same potential difference between the ends of geometrically similar rods of copper and of
glass, very different currents result. The characteristic of the conductor that enters here is its electrical
resistance. The resistance R of a conductor is defined as

where V is the potential difference across the conductor and i is the current through the conductor. Instead
of the resistance R of an object, we may deal with the resistivity ρ of the material:

The reciprocal of resistivity is conductivity σ of the

material:

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Resistance and resistivity
Resistivity and Conductivity
Resistance depends on a resistor s material and on its shape. A typical cylindrical
resistor of length L and cross-sectional area A resistance where the resistivity, is a
characteristic of the material; higher means the material is a poorer conductor.

Higher ρ means the material is a poor conductor.

• Lengthen the resistor and there is more
opportunity for electrons to collide with ions.
• Increasing the cross-sectional area A provides
more paths for an electron to get through and it
lowers the resistance
 Resistance Resistivity and Temperature

Resistivity of metallic conductors increases with temperature. You might expect this,
because increasing temperature means faster thermal motion and therefore more frequent
electron-ion collisions. Over a wide temperature range the relationship between resistivity
and temperature is linear, described by

resistivity at temperature coefficient of

temperature T resistivity at resistivity unit 1/T
temperature T0 ~ 20
degrees
Resistance is proportional to resistivity
Resistance and Ohm’s law
Resistance, Conductivity, and Ohm’s law
The collisions between electrons and metal ions are inelastic, meaning the electrons give up
some of the energy they’ve gained from the electric field. The result is heating of the wire
which is what limits the wire’s safe current. Collisions also reduce the average electron
speed that is, the drift speed and therefore limit the current. Energy loss from collisions is
the origin of electrical resistance. The characteristic of the conductor is its electrical
resistance.

where V is the potential

difference across the conductor
and I is the current through the
conductor
Resistance and Ohm’s law
Resistors
Resistance and Ohm’s law

Materials that obey

Ohm’s Law are said to
be ohmic
Resistance and Ohm’s law

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Electric Energy and Power

• Power is the rate of transfer dU/dT

P is also the rate at which energy is transferred from the battery to the unspecified device
Electric Energy and Power
Energy dissipated in a resistor
The expression (P = IV) applies to any electrical system.
In the special case of a resistor, the electrical power is dissipated in the form of
heat. Applying Ohm’s law (V = IR), we find:

Similarly, using Ohm’s law to solve for current (I = V/R), we find:

• On a microscopic level, as the charge moves through a resistor, it loses this

potential energy during collisions with atoms in the resistor.
• The temperature of the resistor will increase.
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Semi Conductors

Pure silicon has such a high resistivity that it is effectively an insulator and thus not
of much direct use in microelectronic circuits. However, its resistivity can be greatly
reduced in a controlled way by adding minute amounts of specific “impurity” atoms
in a process called doping

**Silicon is the building

block of most electronic
devices, today we have
computers and advanced
electronic devices thanks to
silicon and other semi-
conductors

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Super Conductors

• In 1911, Dutch physicist Kamerlingh Onnes discovered that the resistivity of mercury
absolutely disappears at temperatures below about 4 K This phenomenon of
superconductivity is of vast potential importance in technology because it means
that charge can flow through a superconducting conductor without losing its
energy to thermal energy.

• the best of the normal conductors, such as silver

and copper, cannot become superconducting at
any temperature, and the new ceramic
superconductors are actually good insulators
when they are not at low enough temperatures
to be in a superconducting state.

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Summary

Current Resistance of a Conductor

• The electric current i in a conductor is defined • Resistance R of a conductor is defined by
by

• Similarly the resistivity and conductivity of a material is

Current Density defined by
• Current is related to current density by
• Resistance of a conducting wire of length L and uniform
cross section is
Drift Speed of the Charge Carriers
• Drift speed of the charge carriers in an applied
electric field is related to current density by Change of ρ with Temperature
• The resistivity of most material changes with temperature
and is given as

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Summary

Power
Ohm’s Law • The power P, or rate of energy
• A given device (conductor, resistor, or any transfer, in an electrical device
other electrical device) obeys Ohm’s law if its across which a potential difference
resistance R (defined by Eq. 26-8 as V/i) is V is maintained is
independent of the applied potential
difference V.
• If the device is a resistor, we can
write

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