Resistors: Resistor Color Coding

Resistors
Resistor Color Coding

Resistors
 Because the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance
in any circuit is so regular, we can reliably control any variable in a
circuit simply by controlling the other two. Perhaps the easiest
variable in any circuit to control is its resistance. This can be done
by changing the material, size, and shape of its conductive
components .
 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 symbol
 The most common schematic symbol for a
resistor is a zig-zag line or a rectangular
box:
Resistor values
 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 R1, R2, R3, etc. As
you can see, resistor symbols
can be shown either
horizontally or vertically:
Real resistors
 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:
Variable Resistance
 Resistors can also be
shown to have varying
rather than fixed
resistances. This might be
for the purpose of
describing an actual
physical device designed
for the purpose of providing In fact, any time you see a component
an adjustable resistance, or symbol drawn with a diagonal arrow
it could be to show some through it, that component has a
variable rather than a fixed value. This
component that just symbol "modifier" (the diagonal arrow)
happens to have an is standard electronic symbol
unstable resistance: 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
 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!
Usefulness
 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.
in PCBs
 For a practical illustration of
resistors' usefulness,
examine the photograph
below. It is a picture of a
printed 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".
surface mount devices
 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":
loads
 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.
in 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.
ohm’s law
 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 W. 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.
Review
 Devices called resistors are built to provide precise amounts of
resistance in electric circuits. Resistors are rated both in terms of
their resistance (ohms) and their ability to dissipate heat energy
(watts).
 Resistor resistance ratings cannot be determined from the
physical size of the resistor(s) in question, although approximate
power ratings can. The larger the resistor is, the more power it
can safely dissipate without suffering damage.
 Any device that performs some useful task with electric power is
generally known as a load. Sometimes resistor symbols are used
in schematic diagrams to designate a non-specific load, rather
than an actual resistor.
Resistor Color
Coding
Five-Band Color
Code:
Brown = 1%
Red = 2%
Green = 0.5%
Blue = 0.25%
Violet = 0.1%
Color Code
 The colors brown, red, green, blue, and
violet are used as tolerance codes on 5-
band resistors only. All 5-band resistors use
a colored tolerance band.
 The blank (20%) "band" is only used with
the "4-band" code (3 colored bands + a
blank "band").
Fig.
Color Coded R
Fig.

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