Resistance and Ohms Law

Goals:
To explore how the geometric properties (e.g., cross-sectional area, length) of wires affect their overall resistance. To compare the current and voltage characteristics of several common electronic devices and to see whether they satisfy Ohms law.

Equipment:
Science Workshop Interface w/ voltage probes Digital Multimeter (DMM) Phys212 LabKit Module Ruler-mounted nichrome wires Software: Microsoft Excel, DataStudio

Introduction:
If a potential difference is applied across a conductor, there is a net flow of charge through that conductor which we call an electric current. (This is no longer a case of static equilibrium: specifically, the electric field inside the conductor is not zero.) More precisely, we define the current to be the flow of positive charge through a cross-sectional area of a conductor, i.e.,

dq . dt

(Eq. 1)

The actual flow of charge in most conductors consists of electrons. So, by this convention used by most physicists and engineers, the direction of current flow is actually opposite the to actual flow of charges. From the definition in Eq. 1, we can see that the metric unit of current should be the coulomb per second, which we give another name: the ampere, or amp for short. Note that 1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second (1 A = 1 C/s). Related to the notion of the electric current, which is a scalar quantity, we find it useful to define G the current density J to be the current per unit area through an infinitesimal cross-sectional area of a conductor. From this we can see that the electrical current and the current density are related by G G (Eq. 2) i = J dA , where the integral is performed over the cross-sectional area of the conductor. Note that if the current density is uniform over the entire cross-sectional area, then i = JA. As described above, when a potential difference V is applied across a conductor, the non-zero electric field that is created inside the conductor will force the electrons to move (this is part of our microscopic view of how an electric current flows.) Within the conductor, the electrons will not accelerate for very long before they collide with the positive ions that make up the atomic lattice of the conductor. Thus, individual electrons move quite slowly, but because there are so

many within the conductor, a sizeable flow of electric charge results. Specifically, if a conductor has n electrons per unit volume, and the individual electrons move with an average drift velocity G G G vd , we can note that the current density is given by J = ( ne)vd . The frequent collisions of the electrons with the vibrating lattice of ions limit the overall flow of charge (the electric current). We characterize this limiting behavior by defining the resistance R of the conductor to be:

V . I

(Eq. 3)

We measure resistance in units of ohms (1 ohm = 1 volt per ampere; 1 = 1 V/A). Related to the resistance, a macroscopic quantity, we can also define a quantity which is more related to the microscopic properties of the conductor in question. This quantity is the resistivity of the material, and is defined as G E G . (Eq. 4) J You can verify that the units of resistivity work out to be ohm-meters (m). For a conductor of length L, uniform cross-sectional area A, the resistance R and the resistivity are related by

L . A

(Eq. 5)

As the resistivity of the material is a microscopic quantity, related to the likelihood of any electron to collide with a lattice ion, it should be expected that the resistivity of a metal should increase with temperature (as an increase in temperature would correspond to an increase in the effect of the lattice vibrations.) Now, Ohms Law states that, under certain conditions, the resistivity of a material is independent of the electric field E within it. Equivalently, it can be read to say that the resistance of the material is independent of the voltage applied across it. When a device has such a response (that is, a constant resistance) to an applied voltage, we say that the device is ohmic. In contrast, an electrical device for which Ohms Law does not hold is known as non-ohmic. In this laboratory activity, you will explore several common electrical components to see under what circumstances they qualify as being ohmic or non-ohmic.

Name: ____________________________ Name: ____________________________ Name: ____________________________

Date: ______________ Lab Sect.: __________ Lab Instructor: ______________________

Directions:
Lab Activity 1: Resistance and Resistivity of Nichrome Set the digital multimeter provided to measure resistance. Note that the multimeter measures "resistance" by sending a known current i through the Device Under Test (DUT), measuring the voltage V across the probes and then calculating the resistance via Eq. 3. This measuring current is typically quite small. Measure the lead and internal resistance of the multimeter. On the lowest resistance scale, connect the red and black voltage leads together. Allow the reading to stabilize and note the value of the lead and internal resistance of the multimeter.
U

Rlead,DMM = _______________________
B B

Using the metric ruler under the wires to measure lengths and the multimeter to measure resistance, determine the resistance of both nichromes wire in turn for each of 10 different lengths (e.g. measure the resistance of wire 1 over a 5-cm length, a 10-cm length, a 15-cm length, and so on). Enter these values in an Excel spreadsheet. Use Excel to plot a graph of resistance R versus length L for each wire and add a LinearFit trendline to each graph. Include these graphs with your lab report. Note: If you are still not too comfortable with Excel, make sure you ask for your instructor's help!

Answer the following questions: Q1. You have created two graphs of resistance versus length, and found that data follows a linear trend: What do the y-intercepts of the linear fits mean physically? Are they a random error or indicative of something systematic? Is there any relationship between these y-intercepts, and the lead/internal resistance of the multimeter?

Q2. From the two graphs and the linear fits, determine the ratio of the diameters of the two wires. Explain how you do this.

Q3. You are told that the thin wire is "32-gauge" in the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system. This means that it has a diameter d = 0.0080 inches. (1 in = 2.54 cm.) Using the graph of resistance versus length for the thin wire, calculate the resistivity of nichrome.

Q4. Suppose a 5-cm length of the thin wire is connected to two (ideal) 1.5-V batteries in series. Assuming that the resistivity of the wire is the same as in your measurements in Q3, what is the magnitude of the current density J in the wire?

Q5. If the density of conduction electrons n in nichrome is around 1028 electrons/m3, what is the drift speed vd of the electrons in the wire under the conditions described in Q4? How long does it take an electron to travel from one end of the wire to the other?
P P P P B B

Lab Activity 2: Ohm's Law One statement of Ohm's law says that, under certain conditions, the voltage across an object varies linearly with the current through the object (i.e., V = iR). Another way to say this is that the resistance of the object is independent of the voltage applied across it. Again, a device that obeys this law is said to show "ohmic" behavior, and a graph of voltage across the device versus current through it would be a straight line whose slope is equal to the resistance of the device.
U

By convention, however, devices are typically studied by measuring their I-V characteristics, i.e., creating a plot of the current through the device versus the voltage applied to it. In this case, the slope is equal to the inverse of the resistance. Devices that deviate from this law (those for which the slope is not a constant) are said to show "non-ohmic" behavior. The resistance is still equal to the inverse of the slope of the current versus voltage graph, but in contrast to the ohmic case, the resistance varies as the voltage is changed. The circuit needed to determine whether or not a given device obeys Ohm's Law is shown in the figure below. In this circuit, a variable voltage is applied across the Device Under Test (DUT), while the voltage and the current through the device are measured. All of these operations are performed by the Science Workshop Interface box. A detailed understanding of the circuit is not necessary at this stage: it will be obvious to you how this circuit works once we get to circuits. Science Workshop Interface

A
internal ammeter

Signal Output

internal voltmeter

DUT

Set up the circuit above by following these steps: o Plug the red/black banana plug pair into the Output ports of the Science Workshop Interface box. o Connect the opposite ends of the banana plug to the ends of the Device Under Test (DUT). Well begin with the carbon resistor, the small cylindrical device on your Phys212 LabKit module with the following pattern of colored stripes: brown, black, brown, and possibly a fourth gold stripe. These colored stripes tell us the expected value and tolerance of the resistance of this device. In this code, brown/black/brown/gold indicates a resistance of R = 100 5%.

Now, start DataStudio (start Programs Physics DataStudio), and click on Create Experiment. o Double-click on the Output icon located under the heading Signal Output, in the main Experiment Setup window. o From the pull-down menu, select the Triangle Wave output. o Set the Amplitude to 5.000 V. o Set the Frequency to 0.4 Hz. o Verify that the Auto button is selected. o Click the + button labeled Measurements And Sample Rate. o Check the Measure Output Current box. DataStudio will now measure both the current and voltage produced by the signal generator. o Verify that the Sample Rate is set to 100 Hz. o Move the Signal Generator window off to one corner of the main window.

Click and drag the Graph icon onto the Output Current (A) item in the Data list (in the upper left-hand portion of the main window). In the graph window that appears, click on the label of the x-axis, which should currently read Time (s), and change the x-axis input to Output Voltage (V). You are now ready to measure the I-V characteristic of this device (again, you should already have the output plugs from the Science Workshop Interface connected to the carbon resistor on your LabKit module. Click on the Start button to begin recording data. After the current makes a couple of sweeps, stop recording data by clicking on the Stop button. Add a linear fit of your data to the graph. (Click on the Fit button and select Linear Fit from the pull-down menu.) Note the value of the slope of the linear fit Include all relevant plots with your report.

Q6. Is the resistor an "ohmic" or a "non-ohmic" device? From the I-V plot for the resistor, determine the value of the resistance. Measure the resistance of the resistor using the multimeter. How do these values compare to the stated resistance value (brown/black/brown) of 100 ?

Rgraph = ___________
B B

RDMM = ___________
B B

Disconnect the output wires from the resistor, and connect them to the "long" light bulb. Click the Start button, and again, record data for a few sweeps to produce a graph that displays I versus V across the DUT. Include this graph with your report.

Q7. Does the light bulb have a constant resistance? Is the light bulb an "ohmic" or "non-ohmic" device? Explain your answer.

Q8. Why does the slope of the light bulb graph change? Explain (qualitatively) why the slope changed when a current was flowing through it.

Q9. The slope of the graph for the light bulb is not symmetrical. Why is the slope of the current trace different when the filament is heating up compared to the trace of the current when the filament is cooling down?

Now, decrease the voltage sweep (in the Signal Generator window) to 0.015 V and produce a second graph. Use the linear fit function to estimate this low-voltage resistance of the light bulb. Include this graph with your report.

Q10. Measure the resistance of the light bulb using the multimeter. How does this value compare to the value obtained from the low voltage sweep above. Is this what you expect and why?

Disconnect the output leads from the light bulb and connect them to the diode. The diode is the smallest component on the LabKit module, and has a specific polarity, indicated by a thin colored band near one end of the device. The colored band marks the negative (or low-potential) end of the diode. Reset the voltage sweep back to 5.000 V, and produce an I-V plot for the diode. Include this plot with your report.

Q11. Is the diode an "ohmic" or "non-ohmic" device? Explain your answer. Suppose someone asked you: "What is the resistance of that diode?" How would you respond?