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Resistivity and Laws of Resistance

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Resistivity or Coefficient of Resistance

Resistivity or Coefficient of Resistance is a property of substance, due to which the sub-
stance offers opposition to the flow of current through it. Resistivity or Coefficient of
Resistance of any substance can easily be calculated from the formula called Laws of
Resistance.

Laws of Resistance
The resistance of any substance depends on the following factors,
1. The resistance of a substance depends on its length.
2. The resistance of a substance depends on its cross sectional area.
3. The resistance of a substance depends on the nature of material of the substance.
4. The resistance of a substance depends on the temperature of the substance.

There are mainly four (4) laws of resistance from which the resistivity or specific re-
sistance of any substance can easily be determined.

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First Law of Resistivity

If the length of the conductor is increased, the path traveled by the electrons is also in-
creased. If electrons travel long, they collide more and consequently the numbers of elec-
trons passing through the conductor become less; hence current through the conductor is
reduced. In other word, resistance of the conductor increases with increasing length of
the conductor. This relation is also linear. Electrical resistance R of a conductor or wire is

Where, L is the length of the conductor.

Second Law of Resistivity
The current through any conductor depends on the numbers of electrons pass through a
cross-section of conductor per unit time. So, if cross section of any conductor is larger
then more electrons can cross the cross section. Passing of more electrons through a
cross-section per unit time causes more current through the conductor. For fixed voltage,
more current means less electrical resistance and this relation is linear. So it can be con-
cluded like that, resistance of any conductor is inversely proportional to its cross-sectional
area. Electrical resistance R of a conductor or wire is

Where, A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor.

Combining these two laws we get,
Electrical resistance R of a conductor or wire is

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tance of the material of the conductor or wire. Now if we put, l = 1 and a = 1 in the
equation,

We get, R = ρ. That means resistance of a material of unit length having unit cross - sec-
tional area is equal to its resistivity or specific resistance.
Resistivity of a material can be alliteratively defined as the electrical resistance be-
tween opposite faces of a unit cube of that material.

Third Law of Resistivity

The resistivity of materials are not same. It depends on number of free electrons, and size
of the atoms of the materials, types of bonding in the materials and many other factors of
the material structures. If resistivity of material is high, the resistance offered by the sub-
stance made by this material is high and vice versa. This relation is also linear.

Fourth Law of Resistivity

The temperature of the substance also affects the resistance offered by the substance.
This is because, the heat energy causes more inter-atomic vibration in the metal, and
hence electrons get more obstruction during drifting from lower potential end to higher
potential end. Hence, in metallic substance, resistance increases with increasing tempera-
ture. If the substance in non metallic, with increasing temperature, the more covalent
bonds are broken, these cause more free electrons in the material. Hence, resistance is
decreased with increase in temperature.
That is why, mentioning resistance of any substance without its mentioning its
temperature is meaning less.
Unit of Resistivity
The unit of resistivity can be easily determined form its equation

The unit of resistivity is Ω-m in MKS system and Ω-cm in CGS system and
1 Ω-m = 100 Ω-cm.

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Materi- Resistivity in μ Temperature Coefficient of Resistance Inferred Zerro Resistance
als Ω-cm at 20oC in Ω per oC at 20oC Temperature in oC

Alu-
2.82 0.0039 - 236
minium

Brass 6 to 8 0.0020 - 480

Carbon 3k to 7k 0.00005

Constan-
49 0.000008 -125000
tan

Copper 1.72 0.00393 - 234.5

Gold 2.44 0.0034 - 274

Iron 12.0 0.005 - 180

Lead 22.0 0.0039 - 236

Manganin 42 to 74 0.00003 - 236

Mercury 96 0.00089 - 1100

Nickel 7.8 0.006 - 147

Silver 1.6 0.0038 - 310

Tungsten 5.51 0.0045 - 200

Zinc 6.3 0.004 - 230

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