EE 112

FUNDAMENTALS OF
ELECTRICITY AND
ELECTRONICS
ENGR. ALBERT ROJAS
Chapter-4
1. Resistance

1.1 Definition of Resistance- The opposition to flow of electrons called

electrical resistance , R . It may be defined also as the property of electric
circuit which opposes the flow of current.
The SI unit is OHMS
LAWS OF RESISTANCE
-The resistance of a conductor ,such as wire ,of uniform of cross-
section depends on the following ;
a. ] Length : varies directly as its length , L
b. ] Cross-section : varies inversely as the cross-section area , A
c. ]Nature of material , resistivity of specific resistance ρ
d. ]Temperature of conductor : It almost varies directly with the temperature
 CURRENT → ← 𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐼𝑆𝑇𝐴𝑁𝐶𝐸

𝐿 ρ𝑉 ρ𝐿
R=ρ , R= , R=
𝐴 𝐴² 𝑉

WHERE; R =resistance of given conductor , in ohms (ῼ]

ρ = resistivity of a given conductor , [𝛺-m]
L = length of a given conductor in meter [m]
A = cross-section area of a conductor , [m²]
V = volume of cubic meter

RESISTANCE RESISTIVITY LENGTH AREA VOLUME

OHM OHM-m m m² CU.m
OHM OHM-cm cm Cm² CU.cm
OHM OHM-CM/ft FT CM
 Specific resistance or resistivity – the amount of change of resistance in a
material per unit change in temperature.
At 20ºc,the resistivity of annealed copper wire is
𝒐𝒉𝒎−𝑪𝑴
ρ = 10.37 or ρ =1.72 x 10ˉ⁸ohm-m
𝑭𝑻

Note; if not specified a copper wire assumed annealed copper wire and at 20ºc
conditions.
CIRCULLAR MIL [CM] – It is and old unit in specifying the cross section area of a wire
it is equal to a area of a circle having a diameter of mil.
A = d²
d = diameter of the wire,1 mils CM =d²
A = Cross-section area of the wire ,in cmils [CM]
Remember :
1 inch = 1000 mils
1 MCM = 1000 CM
DIAMETER, MILS AREA, CIRCULAR MILS
1 1
2 4
3 9
5 25
32 1,024
72 5,184
162 26,244

460 211,600
 TABLE RESISTIVITIES OF COMMON ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS AT 20ºC

ELEMENTS ALLOYS
SILVER 9.9 BRASS 42
COPPER ANNEALED 10.37 GERMAN SILVER 199
COPPER DRAWN 10.65 MANGANIN 265
GOLD PURE 14 LUCERO 280
ALUMINUM 17 ADVANCE 294
MAGNESIUM 28 CONSTANTIN 302
TUNGSTEN 33 EXCELO 550
ZINC 36 NICHROME 600
NICKEL 47 NICHROME II 660
IRON CAST 54 CHROMEL 625 -655
PLATINUM 60
IRON COMMERCIAL 75
LEAD 132
MERCURY 577
RELATION BETWEEN A CIRCULAR MIL AND SQUARE MIL

1mil
1MIL 1mil

A= 1circular mil A=1sq,mil

𝝅
1 circular mil= sq.mils
𝟒
𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂
Astrand =
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔
Example..
1. What is the size in square millimeters is the cable of 250 MCM size?
Solution;
250 MCM=250,000 CM

ACM = (dmil )² → dmil = 𝐴CM

dmil = 250,000
= 500 mils
1 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝟐𝟓.𝟒 𝒎𝒎
d = 500 mils x x
1000𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝟏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉
d = 12.7 mm
𝝅
A= d²
𝟒
𝝅(𝟏𝟐.𝟕)²
=
𝟒
A = 126.67mm²
2, A 400,000 cir-mil cable is composed of 37 strands, what is the diameter in mils of
each strand?

𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂
Astrand =
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔
400000
=
37

Astrand = 10,810.81 cir-mils

A = d²
d = 𝟏𝟎, 𝟖𝟏𝟎. 𝟖𝟏
d = 104 mils
3. Calculate the resistivity of the given material whose resistance is 2 ohms ,length
and area of cross section are 15 cm and 25 cm² respectively.
Solution :
Given : R = 2 ohms
1𝑚
L= 15 cm x100𝑐𝑚 = 0.15 m.

A = 25 cm² =0.0025 𝑚2
𝑅𝐴
ρ=
𝐿
2𝝮(0.0025𝑚2 )
=
0.15 𝑚
ρ = 0.033 𝛺-m
4. A copper rod of 10 meter long has a diameter with one inch,if the resistivity of
copper is 10.371 ohms circular mil per foot. What is the resistance?
Given : L =10 m , ρ = 10.371
d = 1inch
R?
ρ𝐿 3.281 𝑓𝑡
R= L= 10 m x = 32.81ft.
𝐴 1𝑚
d² = A
A= (1000)²
A = 1,000,000 CM
𝐶𝑀
10.371 𝛺− 𝑓𝑡 .( 32.81 𝑓𝑡.)
R=
1,000,000 𝐶𝑀

R = 3.4 X10ˉ⁴𝛺