Resistance and Resistivity
Read this section which defines the concepts that quantify the factors that control the current. The electrical resistance of an object measures its opposition to the flow of electric current. Electrical conductance is the reciprocal quantity – it describes how easy it is for an electric current to pass. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with the notion of mechanical friction. The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (Ω), while electrical conductance is measured in siemens (S) (formerly called "mho"s and represented by ℧).
Material and Shape Dependence of Resistance
The resistance of an object depends on its shape and the material of which it is composed. The cylindrical resistor in Figure 20.11 is easy to analyze, and, by so doing, we can gain insight into the resistance of more complicated shapes.
As you might expect, the cylinder’s electric resistance \(R\) is directly proportional to its length \(L\), similar to the resistance of a pipe to fluid flow. The longer the cylinder, the more collisions charges will make with its atoms. The greater
the diameter of the cylinder, the more current it can carry (again similar to the flow of fluid through a pipe). In fact, \(R\) is inversely proportional to the cylinder’s cross-sectional area \(A\).
Figure 20.11 A uniform cylinder of length \(L\) and cross-sectional area \(A\). Its resistance to the flow of current is similar to the resistance posed by a pipe to fluid flow. The longer the cylinder, the greater its resistance. The larger its cross-sectional area \(A\), the smaller its resistance.
For a given shape, the resistance depends on the material of which the object is composed. Different materials offer different resistance to the flow of charge. We define the resistivity \(\rho\) of a substance so that the resistance \(R\) of an object is directly proportional to \(\rho\). Resistivity \(\rho\) is an intrinsic property of a material, independent of its shape or size. The resistance \(R\) of a uniform cylinder of length \(L\), of cross-sectional
area \(A\), and made of a material with resistivity \(\rho\), is
\(R=\frac{\rho L}{A} \) [equation 20.18}
Table 20.1 gives representative values of \(\rho \). The materials listed in the table are separated into categories of conductors, semiconductors, and insulators, based on broad groupings of resistivities. Conductors have the smallest
resistivities, and insulators have the largest; semiconductors have intermediate resistivities. Conductors have varying but large free charge densities, whereas most charges in insulators are bound to atoms and are not free to move. Semiconductors
are intermediate, having far fewer free charges than conductors, but having properties that make the number of free charges depend strongly on the type and amount of impurities in the semiconductor. These unique properties of semiconductors are put
to use in modern electronics, as will be explored in later chapters.
| Material | Resistivity \(\rho \) (\(\Omega \cdot m\)) |
|---|---|
| Conductors | |
| Silver | \(1.59\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Copper | \(1.72\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Gold | \(2.44\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Aluminum | \(2.65\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Tungsten | \(5.6\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Iron | \(9.71\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Platinum | \(10.6\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Steel | \(20\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Lead | \(22\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Manganin (Cu, Mn, Ni alloy) | \(44\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Constantan (Cu, Ni alloy) | \(49\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Mercury | \(96\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Nichrome (Ni, Fe, Cr alloy) | \(100\times 10^{-8}\) |
| Semiconductors | |
| Carbon (pure) | \(3.5\times 10^{-5}\) |
| Carbon | \((3.5-60)\times 10^{-5}\) |
| Germanium (pure) | \(600\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Germanium | \((1-600)\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Silicon (pure) | \(2300\) |
| Silicon | \(0.1-2300\) |
| Insulators | |
| Amber | \(5\times 10^{14}\) |
| Glass | \(10^{9}-10^{14}\) |
| Lucite | \(>10^{13}\) |
| Mica | \(10^{11}-10^{15}\) |
| Quartz (fused) | \(75\times 10^{16}\) |
| Rubber (hard) | \(10^{13}-10^{16}\) |
| Sulfur | \(10^{15}\) |
| Teflon | \(>10^{13}\) |
| Wood | \(10^{8}-10^{11}\) |
Table 20.1 Resistivities \(\rho \) of Various materials at 20ºC
Example 20.5 Calculating Resistor Diameter: A Headlight Filament
A car headlight filament is made of tungsten and has a cold resistance of \(0.350 \Omega\). If the filament is a cylinder 4.00 cm long (it may be coiled to save space), what is its diameter?
Strategy
We can rearrange the equation \(R=\frac{\rho L}{A}\) to find the cross-sectional area \(A\) of the filament from the given information. Then its diameter can be found by assuming it has a circular cross-section.
Solution
The cross-sectional area, found by rearranging the expression for the resistance of a cylinder given in \(R=\frac{\rho L}{A}\), is
\(A=\frac{\rho L}{R}\) [equation 20.19}
Substituting the given values, and taking \(\rho \) from Table 20.1, yields
\(A=\frac{(5.6\times10^{-8}\: \Omega \cdot m)(4.00\times 10^{-2}m)}{0.350\: \Omega }\) [equation 20.20}
\(6.40\times 10^{-9}m^{2}\)
The area of a circle is related to its diameter \(D\) by
\(A=\frac{\pi D^{2}}{4}\) [equation 20.21}
Solving for the diameter \(D\), and substituting the value found for \(A\), gives
\(D=2(\frac{A}{p})^{\frac{1}{2}}=2(\frac{6.40\times 10^{-9}m^{2}}{3.14})^{\frac{1}{2}}\) [equation 20.22}
\(=9.0\times 10^{-5}m\)
Discussion
The diameter is just under a tenth of a millimeter. It is quoted to only two digits, because \(/rho \) is known to only two digits.
Temperature Variation of Resistance
The resistivity of all materials depends on temperature. Some even become superconductors (zero resistivity) at very low temperatures. (See Figure 20.12.) Conversely, the resistivity of conductors increases with increasing temperature. Since the atoms vibrate more rapidly and over larger distances at higher temperatures, the electrons moving through a metal make more collisions, effectively making the resistivity higher. Over relatively small temperature changes (about \(100^{\circ }C\) or less), resistivity \(\rho \) varies with temperature change \(\Delta T\) as expressed in the following equation
\(\rho = \rho_{o}(1+\alpha \Delta T)\) [equation 20.23]
where \(\rho_{o}\) is the original resistivity and \(\alpha \) is the temperature coefficient of resistivity. (See the values of \(\alpha \) in Table 20.2 below.) For larger temperature changes, \(\alpha \) may vary or
a nonlinear equation may be needed to find \(\rho \). Note that \(\alpha \) is positive for metals, meaning their resistivity increases with temperature. Some alloys have been developed specifically to have a small temperature dependence. Manganin
(which is made of copper, manganese and nickel), for example, has \(\alpha \) close to zero (to three digits on the scale in Table 20.2), and so its resistivity varies only slightly with temperature. This is useful for making
a temperature-independent resistance standard, for example.
Figure 20.12 The resistance of a sample of mercury is zero at very low temperatures—it is a superconductor up to about 4.2 K. Above that critical temperature, its resistance makes a sudden jump and then increases nearly linearly with temperature.
| Material | Coefficient 𝜶(1/°C) |
|---|---|
| Conductors | |
| Silver |
\(3.8\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Copper |
\(3.9\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Gold |
\(3.4\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Aluminum |
\(3.9\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Tungsten |
\(4.5\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Iron |
\(5.0\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Platinum |
\(3.93\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Lead |
\(3.9\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Manganin (Cu, Mn, Ni alloy) |
\(0.000\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Constantan (Cu, Ni alloy) |
\(0.002\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Mercury |
\(0.89\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Nichrome (Ni, Fe, Cr alloy) |
\(0.4\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Semiconductors | |
| Carbon (pure) |
\(-0.5\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Germanium (pure) |
\(50\times 10^{-3}\) |
| Silicon (pure) |
\(70\times 10^{-3}\) |
Table 20.2 Temperature Coefficients of Resistivity \(\alpha \)
Note also that \(\alpha \) is negative for the semiconductors listed in Table 20.2, meaning that their resistivity decreases with increasing temperature. They become better conductors at higher temperature, because increased thermal
agitation increases the number of free charges available to carry current. This property of decreasing \(\rho \) with temperature is also related to the type and amount of impurities present in the semiconductors.
The resistance of an object also depends on temperature, since \(R_{o}\) is directly proportional to \(\rho \). For a cylinder we know \(R=\rho L/A\), and so, if \(L\) and \(A\) do not change greatly with temperature, \(R\) will have the same temperature dependence as \(\rho \). (Examination of the coefficients of linear expansion shows them to be about two orders of magnitude less than typical temperature coefficients of resistivity, and so the effect of temperature on \(L\) and \(A\) is about two orders of magnitude less than on \(\rho \).) Thus,
\(R=R_{o}(1+\: \alpha \:\Delta T)\) [equation 20.24}
is the temperature dependence of the resistance of an object, where \(R_{o}\) is the original resistance and \(R\) is the resistance after a temperature change \(\Delta T\). Numerous thermometers are based on the effect of temperature on resistance. (See
Figure 20.13.) One of the most common is the thermistor, a semiconductor crystal with a strong temperature dependence, the resistance of which is measured to obtain its temperature. The device is small, so that it quickly comes into
thermal equilibrium with the part of a person it touches.
Figure 20.13 These familiar thermometers are based on the automated measurement of a thermistor’s temperature-dependent resistance. (credit: Biol, Wikimedia Commons)
Example 20.6 Calculating Resistance: Hot-Filament Resistance
Although caution must be used in applying \(\rho =\rho _{o}(1+\: \alpha \:\Delta T)\) and \(R=R_{o}(1+\: \alpha \: \Delta T)\) for temperature changes greater than \(100^{\circ }C\), for tungsten the equations work reasonably well for very large temperature changes. What, then, is the resistance of the tungsten filament in the previous example if its temperature is increased from room temperature (\(20^{\circ }\)) to a typical operating temperature of \(2850^{\circ }\)?
Strategy
This is a straightforward application of \(R=R_{o}(1+\: \alpha \: \Delta T)\), since the original resistance of the filament was given to be \(R_{o}=0.350\: \Omega\), and the temperature change is \(\Delta T=2830^{\circ}C\).
Solution
The hot resistance \(R\) is obtained by entering known values into the above equation:
\(R=R_{o}(1+\: \alpha \: \Delta T)\) [equation 20.25}
\(=(0.350\: \Omega)[1+(4.5\times 10^{-3}/^{\circ}C)(2830^{\circ}C)]\)
\(=4.8\: \Omega\)
Discussion
This value is consistent with the headlight resistance example in Ohm’s Law: Resistance and Simple Circuits.
Source: Rice University, https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/20-3-resistance-and-resistivity
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