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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

How To Use Ohm's Law

Probably the most important mathematical relationship between voltage, current and resistance in electricity is described as "Ohm's Law". In 1827, George Ohm developed his well-known formula concerning electricity after performing various experiments and studies. Ohm's formula is used to find out the required resistance, voltage or current values so that we can design circuits and choose the right components. For example Ohm's law is used to determine the correct resistor value in a circuit when the voltage is known and you would like to limit the current to a certain value.

Ohm's Law is defined as V = I x R, whereby V is the voltage, I is the current and R is the resistance (in Ohms). When using the equation in practice, the value of all of the components can be more easily determined by rewriting the equation. When you would like to find the current you can use I = V / R or when you like to find the resistance value you can use R = V / I.

If we write Ohm's law as I = V / R, it lets us know that the electrical current in a circuit can be calculated by dividing the voltage by the resistance. In other words, the current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance. And so, an increase in the voltage will increase the current provided that the resistance is held constant. Alternatively, if the resistance in a circuit increases and the voltage doesn't change, the current will decrease.

If you'll want to determine the voltage in the event that the resistance as well as current are known, you can utilize the formulation V = I x R. The formula shows us that if either the current or the resistance increase in a circuit (when the other stays the same), the voltage will also have to increase.

The resistance in a circuit may be computed with R = V / I. When the current is kept constant, a rise in voltage will result in a rise in resistance. An increased current while voltage stays constant will lower resistance. It must be noted that for a wide variety of materials used as a resistor (such as metals) the resistance is fixed and does not depend on the amount of current or voltage. In semiconductors however, the resistance is often dependent on the current or voltage level.

To get a better understanding on the mathematical relationship between voltage, resistance and current, Ohm's Law is very useful.

Want to learn more about ohms law and resistors in general, than please visit the resistor guide, the most extensive resource on everything related to electrical resistors.

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