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What Is A Resistor

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What is a Resistor?

Special components called resistors are made for the express purpose of creating a precise
quantity of resistance for insertion into a circuit. They are typically constructed of metal wire
or carbon and engineered to maintain a stable resistance value over a wide range of
environmental conditions.

Unlike lamps, they do not produce light, but they do produce heat as electric power is
dissipated by them in a working circuit. Typically, though, the purpose of a resistor is not to
produce usable heat, but simply to provide a precise quantity of electrical resistance.

Resistor Schematic Symbols and Values


The most common schematic symbol for a resistor is a zig-zag line:

Resistor values in ohms are usually shown as an adjacent number, and if several resistors are
present in a circuit, they will be labeled with a unique identifier number such as R 1, R2, R3,
etc. As you can see, resistor symbols can be shown either horizontally or vertically:

Real resistors look nothing like the zig-zag symbol. Instead, they look like small tubes or
cylinders with two wires protruding for connection to a circuit. Here is a sampling of different
kinds and sizes of resistors:

In keeping more with their physical appearance, an alternative schematic symbol for a
resistor looks like a small, rectangular box:

Resistors can also be shown to have varying rather than fixed resistances. This might be to
describe an actual physical device designed to provide an adjustable resistance, or it could
be to show some component that just happens to have an unstable resistance:

Any time you see a component symbol drawn with a diagonal arrow through it, that
component has a variable rather than a fixed value. This symbol “modifier” (the diagonal
arrow) is a standard electronic symbol convention.
Variable Resistors
Variable resistors must have some physical means of adjustment, either a rotating shaft or
lever that can be moved to vary the amount of electrical resistance. Here is a photograph
showing some devices called potentiometers, which can be used as variable resistors:

Power Rating of Resistors


Because resistors dissipate heat energy as the electric currents through them overcome the
“friction” of their resistance, resistors are also rated in terms of how much heat energy they
can dissipate without overheating and sustaining damage. Naturally, this power rating is
specified in the physical unit of “watts.” Most resistors found in small electronic devices such
as portable radios are rated at 1/4 (0.25) watt or less.

The power rating of any resistor is roughly proportional to its physical size. Note in the first
resistor photograph how the power ratings relate with size: the bigger the resistor, the higher
its power dissipation rating. Also, note how resistances (in ohms) have nothing to do with
size! Although it may seem pointless now to have a device doing nothing but resisting
electric current, resistors are extremely useful devices in circuits.

Because they are simple and so commonly used throughout the world of electricity and
electronics, we’ll spend a considerable amount of time analyzing circuits composed of
nothing but resistors and batteries.

How are Resistors Useful?


For a practical illustration of resistors’ usefulness, look for a circuit board, or PCB: an
assembly made of sandwiched layers of insulating phenolic fiber-board and conductive
copper strips, into which components may be inserted and secured by a low-temperature
welding process called “soldering.”

The various components on this circuit board are identified by printed labels. Resistors are
denoted by any label beginning with the letter “R”.

The particular circuit board is a computer accessory called a “modem,” which allows digital
information transfer over telephone lines. There are at least a dozen resistors (all rated at 1/4
watt power dissipation) that can be seen on this modem’s board. Every one of the black
rectangles (called “integrated circuits” or “chips”) contain their own array of resistors for their
internal functions, as well. Another circuit board example shows resistors packaged in even
smaller units, called “surface mount devices.”

This particular circuit board is the underside of a personal computer hard disk drive, and
once again the resistors soldered onto it are designated with labels beginning with the letter
“R”:

There are over one hundred surface-mount resistors on this circuit board, and this count, of
course, does not include the number of resistors internal to the black “chips.” These two
photographs should convince anyone that resistors—devices that “merely” oppose the flow
of electric current—are very important components in the realm of electronics!

“Load” on Schematic Diagrams


In schematic diagrams, resistor symbols are sometimes used to illustrate any general type of
device in a circuit doing something useful with electrical energy. Any non-specific electrical
device is generally called a load, so if you see a schematic diagram showing a resistor symbol
labeled “load,” especially in a tutorial circuit diagram explaining some concept unrelated to
the actual use of electrical power, that symbol may just be a kind of shorthand representation
of something else more practical than a resistor.

Analyzing Resistor Circuits


To summarize what we’ve learned in this lesson, let’s analyze the following circuit,
determining all that we can from the information given:
All we’ve been given here to start with is the battery voltage (10 volts) and the circuit current
(2 amps). We don’t know the resistor’s resistance in ohms or the power dissipated by it in
watts. Surveying our array of Ohm’s Law equations, we find two equations that give us
answers from known quantities of voltage and current:

Inserting the known quantities of voltage (E) and current (I) into these two equations, we can
determine circuit resistance (R) and power dissipation (P):

For the circuit conditions of 10 volts and 2 amps, the resistor’s resistance must be 5 Ω. If we
were designing a circuit to operate at these values, we would have to specify a resistor with a
minimum power rating of 20 watts, or else it would overheat and fail.

Resistor Materials
Resistors can be found in a variety of different materials, each one with its own properties
and specific areas of use. Most electrical engineers use the types found below:

Wirewound (WW) Resistors


Wire Wound Resistors are manufactured by winding resistance wire around a non-conductive
core in a spiral. They are typically produced for high precision and power applications. The
core is usually made of ceramic or fiberglass, and the resistance wire is made of nickel-
chromium alloy. They are not suitable for applications with frequencies higher than 50kHz.

Low noise and stability with respect to temperature variations are standard characteristics of
Wire Wound Resistors. Resistance values are available from 0.1 up to 100 kΩ, with accuracies
between 0.1% and 20%.

Metal Film Resistors


Nichrome or tantalum nitride is typically used for metal film resistors. A combination of a
ceramic material and a metal typically make up the resistive material. The resistance value is
changed by cutting a spiral pattern in the film, much like carbon film with a laser or abrasive.
Metal film resistors are usually less stable over temperature than wire wound resistors but
handle higher frequencies better.

Metal Oxide Film Resistors


Metal oxide resistors use metal oxides such as tin oxide, making them slightly different from
metal film resistors. These resistors are reliable and stable and operate at higher
temperatures than metal film resistors. Because of this, metal oxide film resistors are used in
applications that require high endurance.

Foil Resistors
Developed in the 1960s, the foil resistor is still one of the most accurate and stable types of
resistor that you’ll find and are used for applications with high precision requirements. A
ceramic substrate that has a thin bulk metal foil cemented to it makes up the resistive
element. Foil Resistors feature a very low-temperature coefficient of resistance.
Carbon Composition (CCR) Resistors
Until the 1960s Carbon Composition Resistors were the standard for most applications. They
are reliable, but not very accurate (their tolerance cannot be better than about 5%). A mixture
of fine carbon particles and non-conductive ceramic material are used for the resistive
element of CCR Resistors.

The substance is molded into the shape of a cylinder and baked. The dimensions of the body
and the ratio of carbon to ceramic material determine the resistance value. More carbon
used in the process means there will be a lower resistance. CCR resistors are still useful for
certain applications because of their ability to withstand high energy pulses, a good example
application would be in a power supply.

Carbon Film Resistors


Carbon film resistors have a thin carbon film (with a spiral cut in the film to increase the
resistive path) on an insulating cylindrical core. This allows for the resistance value to be
more accurate and also increases the resistance value. Carbon film resistors are much more
accurate than carbon composition resistors. Special carbon film resistors are used in
applications that require high pulse stability.

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