The first experiment carried out was to determine the correct voltage for the power pack to supply.

This test began simply, with no numerical data to note, only observations of the effect of heat on the wire. It began at 5V, because any higher would have defeated common sense, but it was necessary to have a large enough voltage to be able to monitor the changes easily. At 5V, it was discovered that the wire burned out too easily as the length decreased to between 10 and 15cm, and the same with 4V, where the wire tended to burn out at between 12 and 10cm. 3V and 2V provided the best results, with 2V minimising the risk of the wire burning out or heating up excessively (skewing the results) yet with a large enough voltage to furnish workable results. There was no need to test which thicknesses would work best, as it was limited in the thicknesses available. The experimentation about the maximum and minimum lengths of the wire also had limited numerical data. The extremes of thickness available were used (It was felt there to be no real need to experiment with all of the arrayed thicknesses) and, as the wires used were between the lengths of 100 and 70 cm, had to use a length that took this into account.

Background Physics
Electrical Conductivity is a measure of a materials ability to conduct electricity, or, conversely, the inability of a material to resist the flow of electrons through it. All wires cause resistance, as electrons travelling through must expend some of their energy to their surroundings most often in heat and light. Conductivity is material dependant, meaning there should be an already agreed conductivity for Constantan this will allow checking of the accuracy of the experiments, as they should correspond to the agreed sum. The thickness of the wire affects the conductance important as it is one of the necessary measures in the calculation of the overall conductivity. Area affects distance because the greater the area, the more paths there are for electrons to flow down, as there is a larger metallic structure, leading to a lower resistance. The length of the wire affects the result somewhat because there is simply more resistance the greater the length of the wire, due to there being more atoms for the electrons to be slowed down by. This is demonstrated simply where shorter lengths of wire get hotter quicker, due to a greater number of electrons getting through the wire more quickly.