11.3 Resistance & Ohm's Law

Resistance

Resistance is a material's tendency to resist the flow of electric charge. Resistors are the components in a circuit that are typically associated with having resistance. Think about them as being in a zig-zag shape, making electrons bump into the walls and slowing them down, reducing the current. The electrons transform their kinetic energy into thermal energy and heat up the resistor and its environment, which will be explained further in Lesson 3.4. Resistance is a scalar, measured in Ohms (${\Omega}$), and represented with the variable ${R}$. Note that wires have no resistance conventionally.