Ohm’s Law
The relationship between current,
voltage, and resistance is given by Ohm’s law. This law states that the amount
of current passing through a conductor is directly proportional to the voltage
across the conductor and inversely proportional to the resistance of the
conductor. Ohm’s law can be expressed as an equation, V = IR,
where V is the difference in volts between two locations (called the
potential difference), I is the amount of current in amperes that is
flowing between these two points, and R is the resistance in ohms of the
conductor between the two locations of interest. V = IR can also
be written R = V/I and I = V/R. If any two of the
quantities are known, the third can be calculated. For example, if a potential
difference of 110 volts sends a 10-amp current through a conductor, then the
resistance of the conductor is R = V/I = 110/10 = 11 ohms. If V
= 110 and R = 11, then I = V/R = 110/11 = 10 amp.
Under normal conditions, resistance
is constant in conductors made of metal. If the voltage is raised to 220 in the
example above, then R is still 11. The current I will be doubled,
however, since I = V/R = 220/11 = 20 amp.