Resistors

A resistor is a two-terminal electrical or

electronic component that opposes an electric
current by producing a voltage drop between its
terminals in proportion to the current, that is, in
accordance with Ohm's law: V = IR. The
electrical resistance R is equal to the voltage
drop V across the resistor divided by the current
I through the resistor. Resistors are used as part
of electrical networks and electronic circuits.

Identifying resistors

Most axial resistors use a pattern of colored

stripes to indicate resistance. Surface-mount
resistors are marked numerically. Cases are
usually tan, brown, blue, or green, though other
colors are occasionally found such as dark red or
dark grey.
 One can also use a multimeter or ohmmeter to
test the values of a resistor.
Four-band axial resistors

Four-band identification is the most commonly

used color coding scheme on all resistors. It
consists of four colored bands that are painted
around the body of the resistor. The scheme is
simple: The first two numbers are the first two
significant digits of the resistance value, the
third is a multiplier, and the fourth is the
tolerance of the value (e.g. green-blue-yellow
red : 56 x (10^4) ohms = 56 x 10000 ohms =
560 kohms ±2%). Each color corresponds to a
certain number, shown in the chart below. The
tolerance for a 4-band resistor will be 1%, 5%,
or 10%.

COLOR BAND FOR RESISTORS

1st 2nd 3rd band 4th band Temp.

Color
band band (multiplier) (tolerance) Coefficient
Black 0 0 ×100
Brown 1 1 ×101 ±1% (F) 100 ppm
Red 2 2 ×10 2
±2% (G) 50 ppm
Orange 3 3 ×103 15 ppm
Yellow 4 4 ×104 25 ppm
Green 5 5 ×10 5
±0.5%
 (D)
±0.25%
Blue 6 6 ×106
(C)
Violet 7 7 ×107 ±0.1% (B)
±0.05%
Grey 8 8 ×108
(A)
White 9 9 ×109
Gold ×10-1 ±5% (J)
Silver ×10-2 ±10% (K)
None ±20% (M)

5-band axial resistors

5-band identification is used for higher precision

(lower tolerance) resistors (1%, 0.5%, 0.25%,
0.1%), to notate the extra digit. The first three
bands represent the significant digits, the fourth
is the multiplier, and the fifth is the tolerance. 5-
band standard tolerance resistors are sometimes
encountered, generally on older or specialized
resistors. They can be identified by noting a
standard tolerance color in the 4th band. The 5th
band in this case is the temperature coefficient.
Series and parallel circuits

Resistors in a parallel configuration each have

the same potential difference (voltage). To find
their total equivalent resistance (Req):

The parallel property can be represented in

equations by two vertical lines "||" (as in
geometry) to simplify equations. For two
resistors,
The current through resistors in series stays the
same, but the voltage across each resistor can
be different. The sum of the potential differences
(voltage) is equal to the total voltage. To find
their total resistance:

A resistor network that is a combination of

parallel and series can sometimes be broken up
into smaller parts that are either one or the
other. For instance,

However, many resistor networks cannot be split

up in this way. Consider a cube, each edge of
which has been replaced by a resistor. For
example, determining the resistance between
two opposite vertices requires matrix methods
for the general case. However, if all twelve
resistors are equal, the corner-to-corner
resistance is 5⁄6 of any one of them.
Various types of Resistors
Carbon composition
Carbon film
Thick and thin film
Metal film
Wirewound
Foil resistor
Grid resistor
Strain gauges