Factors affecting Resistance

What comes to mind when you think of electricity? What are Electricity and Resistance? Current, voltage and resistance. What affects the resistance? What makes a conductor be what it is and for that matter, how is it different from an insulator? What happens when the kinetic energy of electrons is gone? Learn about electricity and resistance in a very interesting way through this module.

Electricity can be defined as the movement of charged electrons or the charged protons, dynamically as a current. The charged electrons create a charge, which is bound together to do work. The electric bulb, fan and other electronic equipment work by binding the electrons.

Electricity is measured in units of power called watts and it is denoted by the letter W.
Current can be defined as the rate at which the charge is flowing. An electric current can be measured using a device called ammeter and the SI unit for measuring an electric current is the ampere.

Voltage can be defined as the difference in charges between the two points. It can be measured by direct current (DC) and alternating current devices.

Resistance is the tendency of a material to resist the flow of current. There are several factors that affect resistance. These include the material of the wire, thickness of wire, length of wire and temperature of wire. The resistance of electricity is measured in Siemens, which is denoted by the letter S and the S.I unit of resistance is ohms which are denoted by the Greek alphabet symbol Omega - Ω. The resistance of any substance can be calculated by the Laws of Resistance.

The main difference conductor and an insulator are in conductor electric current flow freely whereas in insulator electric current cannot flows freely.