Resistors are a simple but vitally important component in electronics. They are tiny components that have a fixed resistance, which is the ability to limit the flow of electrical current. As such, resistors are used as voltage-limiting devices in electronic circuits, and their value determines how much current they let through.
Resistors are essential in most circuitry applications. If you don’t need to add them into the circuit as a separate component, they are almost certainly inside the components themselves and are necessary to prevent too much current moving through sensitive pieces of equipment causing them to fail and possibly even catching fire.
Resistance is Linked to Current and Voltage Via Ohms Law:
resistance (R, Ohms) = voltage (V, volts) ÷ current (I, amps)
In a series circuit resistances combine to form a total resistance (Rₜₒₜₐₗ= R₁ + R₂ + R₃ etc)
In a parallel circuit 1/Rₜₒₜₐₗ = 1/R₁ +1/R₂ +1/R₃ etc)
However, How do You Know What The Resistance of The Resistor Actually is?
Because of the huge range of resistors and resistances available, and of the tiny size of the resistor component, it is very hard to tell one from another. Writing on them would be an option but would be very small and therefore often indecipherable.
The industry instead originated the idea of a coded banding pattern that was generic for all resistors.
Click the button to discover how to download our handy guide and decipher the resistor code....
