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Ohm鈥檚 law, electric power and energy - CCEAResistance and temperature

Ohm鈥檚 Law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current flowing through it, provided all physical conditions, such as temperature, remain constant.

Part of Combined ScienceElectricity

Resistance and temperature

The resistance of a metal conductor is due to collisions between the free electrons of the electric current and the metal ions of the wire.

If the temperature of a metal conductor increases, the ions of the metal vibrate more vigorously.

This increases the number of collisions between the and the ions.

Hence, for a metal, resistance increases with increasing temperature.

Often the increase in temperature is caused by an increase in current.

An example is a filament lamp.

As current increases, the filament gets hotter and the resistance of the bulb increases.

As current increases, the filament gets hotter and the resistance of the bulb increases.

A thermistor is a device that鈥檚 resistance changes with temperature.

The resistance of an NTC thermistor decreases with increasing temperature.

A voltage-current graph for a thermistor is shown below.

A voltage-current graph for a thermistor

Voltage - Current graph for a thermistor as current and temperature rise.