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Electrical Resistance

The document explains the concepts of electrical resistance, focusing on series and parallel resistors, including voltage and current division principles. It provides formulas for calculating equivalent resistance and conductance, as well as practical applications of resistors in various devices. Additionally, it discusses the effects of temperature on resistance, internal resistance of voltage sources, and the color coding used for identifying resistor values.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
11 views10 pages

Electrical Resistance

The document explains the concepts of electrical resistance, focusing on series and parallel resistors, including voltage and current division principles. It provides formulas for calculating equivalent resistance and conductance, as well as practical applications of resistors in various devices. Additionally, it discusses the effects of temperature on resistance, internal resistance of voltage sources, and the color coding used for identifying resistor values.

Uploaded by

ndirangueuticus
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE, R

Series Resistors and Voltage Division

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows two resistors in series, since the same current, i flows in both of them. Applying
Ohm’s law to each of the resistors, we obtain

If we apply KVL to the loop (moving in the clockwise direction), we have

Therefore

Hence

Or

Where

Therefore the equivalent resistance of any number of resistors connected in series is the sum of
the individual resistances.

For N resistors in series then,

Page 1 of 10
Thus the equivalent conductance, Geq of N resistors in series is given by

To determine the voltage across each resistor,

This is called the principle of voltage division, and the circuit in figure 1 is called a voltage divider. In
general, if a voltage divider has N resistors (R1, R2, …, RN) in series with the source voltage v, the
nth resistor (RN) will have a voltage drop of

Parallel Resistors and Current Division

Figure 2 shows resistors connected in parallel and therefore they have same voltage across them.

Figure 2

From Ohm’s law,

Hence

Applying KCL at node a gives the total current i as

Therefore

Page 2 of 10
Thus the equivalent resistance of two parallel resistors is equal to the product of their resistances
divided by their sum. This applies only to two resistors in parallel.

In a general case of a circuit with N resistors in parallel, the equivalent resistance is

It is often more convenient to use conductance rather than resistance when dealing with resistors
in parallel. The equivalent conductance for N resistors in parallel is

Therefore equivalent conductance of resistors connected in parallel is the sum of their individual
conductances.

Given the total current i entering node a in figure 2, determine the current, i1 and i2.

Page 3 of 10
This shows that the total current i is shared by the resistors in inverse proportion to their
resistances. This is known as the principle of current division, and the circuit in figure 2 is known as a
current divider. Notice that the larger current flows through the smaller resistance.

EXAMPLE

Figure 3 shows a resistor network determine the equivalent resistance, Req.

Figure 3

SOLUTION

The 1 Ω and 5 Ω resistors are in series hence their equivalent resistance is

Page 4 of 10
Thus the circuit reduces to figure 4,

Figure 4

Figure 4 reduces to figure 5,

Figure 5

EXERCISE

Determine equivalent resistance in the resistor network in figure 6.

Figure 6

ANSWER

Req = 6 Ω.

Applications of Resistors

Resistors are often used to model devices that convert electrical energy into heat or other
forms of energy. Such devices include conducting wire, lightbulbs, electric heaters, stoves,
ovens, and loudspeakers.

Page 5 of 10
RESISTIVITY, р

Table 1: A table of conductivity and resistivity of some common materials

Note: The values in table 1 varies with temperature, the values given here are at 20 oC.

EXAMPLE

Page 6 of 10
SOLUTION

Effect of temperature on Electrical resistance

EXAMPLE

Page 7 of 10
SOLUTION

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

An ideal voltage source is independent of the current flowing through it. Practical voltage
sources have internal resistance which means that the voltage at its terminals varies as the
current through it changes. The equivalent circuit of a practical voltage source has series internal
resistance, r.

Example

A and B are voltage source terminals. The terminal voltage is VAB.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION

COLOUR CODE FOR RESISTORS

Some resistors are coded by means of colour bands at one end of the body of the resistor. The
first band indicates the first digit of the value of the resistance, the second band gives the second
digit and the third band gives the number of zeros. If there is a fourth band this tells us the
percentage tolerance on the nominal value. The colour codes are given in Table 2.

Page 8 of 10
Table2: Colour bands and resistance

EXAMPLE

Figure 7 shows three resistors. Determine the nominal value of the resistance of each of the
resistors. If the resistors are connected in series, determine the maximum possible resistance of
the combination.

Figure 7

Page 9 of 10
COLD AND HOT RESISTANCE

Electrical resistance can be categorized as cold and hot resistance for heating elements like
incandescent lamp. Cold resistance is the lamp resistance before it heats up. Hot resistance is the
lamp resistance when the lamp is heated up. Hot resistance is higher than cold resistance.
Therefore the heating element of an incandescent lamp is a non - linear resistor.

Page 10 of 10

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