Factors Affecting Resistance

There are various factors that affect the resistance of the conductor, these factors are:

• Material of the Conductor
• Length of the Conductor
• Cross-Sectional Area of the Conductor
• Temperature of the Conductor

Let’s understand the effect of these factors on the resistance of the conductor in detail.

Material of the Conductor

As resistance is the physical property of a material, different materials can have different values of resistance. As conductors have less resistance compared to semiconductors and insulators, and semi-conductors have more resistance than conductors but less than insulators.

Length of the Conductor

By the relation between resistance and resistivity, we know that the length of the conductor and resistance of the conductor is directly proportional to each other i.e., the longer the length of the wire the more resistance it will offer in the circuit.

Cross-Sectional Area of the Conductor

As the relation between Specific Resistance or resistivity and Resistance is given by R = (ρ×L)/A. In which, we can see the resistance R of the conductor and cross-sectional area A of the conductor are inversely proportional to each other i.e., if one increases the other should decrease if all other things remain constant. Thus, by increasing cross sectional area of the conductor the resistance of it decreases.

Temperature of the Conductor

The resistance of the conductor and temperature both are directly proportional to each other i.e., as the temperature of the conductor rises, its resistance increases due to variations in its resistivity. As the temperature can also affect the physical dimensions of the conductor, such as length and area, also affect its resistance which further affects the resistance.

Learn more about, Temperature Dependence of Resistance

Electrical resistance is the obstruction offered by the material in the flowing of the current or charge through the material. Thus, the higher the resistance the lower the amount of current passing through it. It is the property of a material that tells us about the flow of the current through the material. The substances that easily conducts the electric current are called conductors and they have very low electrical resistance, on the contrary, the substance that does not easily conducts the electric current are called insulators and they have very high resistance.

In this article, we will learn about, electrical resistance, its formula, factors affecting electrical resistance, and others in detail.