Week 3: Ohm’s “Law”

This virtual experiment is based on the online PhET “Circuit Construction

Kit – DC” simulation developed by the University of Colorado – Boulder,
Colorado

Many PhET physics simulations may be found on their website at

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics

Familiarization and Setup

First, open the simulation and click on the simulation. Play with the simulation for a little
while to familiarize yourself with its controls. We will use the “Lab” option.
a) Note the selectable circuit elements at the left. More elements are available using
the scroll tabs at top and bottom.
b) Note the area in the middle where circuits may be constructed.
c) Note the checkboxes at the top right.
d) Note the voltmeter and ammeter at the right.
e) The circuit elements may be viewed pictorially or schematically; this choice is
available at the bottom right.
f) When a circuit element is selected, its properties are displayed at the bottom and
may be changed there.

Electric Current vs. Potential Difference

First, drag the battery, the resistor, and two wires from the left onto the circuit area and
connect them as shown in Figure 1. The schematic at the left plays the roll in electronics that the
force diagram plays in mechanics. Since your reader will have different components than you
do, the schematic diagram is far more suitable for publication than the picture. Any scientist will
know how to construct the circuit using his components if he should need to do so.

Figure 1: A schematic diagram and a pictorial illustration of the circuit simulation. Note that the battery is selected so that the
battery's control is at the bottom.
Table 1: Current vs. voltage data from PhET simulation for _____W resistance.

Potential Difference (V) Current (A)

-9.00
-7.00
-5.00
-3.00
-1.00
1.00
3.00
5.00
7.00
9.00
Record your resistor’s resistance in the caption of Table 1, select the battery, and complete
Table 1. Unfortunately, the ammeter does not report negative current values, so you must
assign the sign yourself; the current and voltmeter signs should agree. You can select “Show
Current” at the top right to note that reversing the battery reverses the current direction as well as
the voltmeter’s sign.
Each time you click the switch, its state changes: On, Off, On, Off,…
The colored bands on your resistor are the manufacturer’s way of specifying its value. This
YouTube video explains how to use the color code. You may also select the “Values” checkbox
at the top right if the color code does not interest you or if you want to check your work.
Click the battery to see and to change its properties at the bottom. You may drag the button to
select the battery’s voltage. You may also click the arrows at the ends to fine-tune the value.
You may click the yellow circle at the left to reverse the battery’s direction; this allows you to
observe both positive and negative electromotive forces (emfs). We should point out that emf is
actually a potential difference and not a force.
In the real world, batteries have limits on how fast they can convert chemical energy into
electric energy. We can model this limitation rather accurately by placing a resistance in series
with an ideal voltage source. As we draw higher currents from the battery, the potential
difference between its terminals decreases to zero as its absolute limit is reached. The “Battery
Resistance” control at the right allows the simulator to incorporate this battery property.
Also, wires in the real world are not perfect conductors. Wires have small, but non-zero,
electrical resistance. The simulator can also accommodate this wire property if the “Wire
Resistance” control is increased.
Once Table 1 is complete, plot the potential difference observed by the voltmeter (vertical) vs.
the resulting current (horizontal) and describe the graph.
Fit the data to a strict proportionality, f ( x )=kx, and record the slope.
k = (___ ± ___)
Table 2: Current vs. voltage data from PhET simulation for _____W resistance.

Potential Difference (V) Current (A)

-9.00
-7.00
-5.00
-3.00
-1.00
1.00
3.00
5.00
7.00
9.00

Two More Resistors

Click the resistor and change its value. We suggest 10 W, 30 W, and 100 W. Record the new
resistance value in the caption of Table 2. Click the battery again and complete Table 2. Plot
this data, fit it to a strict proportionality, and record its slope.
k = (___ ± ___)
Repeat this process for Table 3.
k = (___ ± ___)
Review your three graphs and other recorded observations. Do you notice a correlation
between your observed slope and any of your observations?

German physicist Georg Simon Ohm was the first to publish his observation that the electric
current, I, that flows through an object is proportional to the difference in electric potential, V,
between the object’s ends

V =IR (1)
where R is the constant of proportionality (if the object’s temperature is constant).
Table 3: Current vs. voltage data from PhET simulation for _____W resistance.

Potential Difference (V) Current (A)

 -9.00
-7.00
-5.00
-3.00
-1.00
1.00
3.00
5.00
7.00
9.00
The resistance of an object can further be expressed as

L (2)
R=ρ ,
A
where L is the object’s length, A is the object’s constant cross-sectional area, and r is a
thermodynamic property of the material composing the object called resistivity. The resistivity
changes (primarily) with temperature. Although these changes vary greatly among the host of
available materials, a linearized correction has been found to apply quite well over a wide
temperature range centered at 20˚C

ρ ( T ) =ρ20 ( 1+α T ( T −20∘ C ) ). (3)

aT is the temperature coefficient of resistivity and varies with material. We should also note that
ρ ( 20∘ C ) =ρ 20.
At 20˚C, copper’s resistivity is 1.68×10-8 Wm and aT = 0.00386 / ˚C for copper. What is
copper’s resistivity at 120 ˚C?

What is the resistance of a copper wire 100 m long with diameter 1.0 mm at 120 ˚C?

What potential difference, V, is needed to cause 10 A of current, I, to flow in this fairly hot wire?

Unfortunately, the simulator does not incorporate electric heating nor does it incorporate the
effects of temperature on battery voltage, battery resistance, or material resistivity.
A Battery’s Internal Resistance
A battery’s terminal voltage varies as shown in Table 4 as we connect various resistors across
its terminals. How might we view this data to estimate the battery’s internal resistance?

Table 4: Simulated battery voltage for various battery current values.

Potential Difference (V) Current (A)

12.00 0.00
10.73 1.00
9.51 2.00
8.25 3.00
7.01 4.00
Plot the voltage (vertical) in Table 4 vs the current (horizontal), fit the data to a line, and extract
the slope.
R=
Is there a value for R in a battery that would leave the terminal voltage unchanged for all
currents? If so, what is this idealized internal resistance?

The Voltmeter’s Input Resistance

Voltmeters are designed to measure and to display the difference in electric potential between
the two leads. Therefore, we must place one voltmeter lead at each of the two points where the
difference in potential is desired. We very much prefer, however, that adding the voltmeter to
the circuit does not change the circuit appreciably. How much current is flowing through the
voltmeter before we connect it to the circuit?

Then how much current would we like the voltmeter to pass while it is in the circuit?

Assume that the measured potential difference, V, will be nonzero and decide what terminal
resistance we would prefer our voltmeters to have. (Hint: Equation (1))

The Ammeter’s Input Resistance

Ammeters are designed to measure and to display the electric current that flows through their
terminals. Therefore, to measure a current through a circuit component, we must force the same
current to flow through our ammeter. We must break the circuit at one of the component’s ends,
connect the loose component end to one of the ammeter’s leads, and connect the other ammeter
lead to the circuit (where the component was previously connected). We very much prefer,
however, that adding the ammeter to the circuit does not change the circuit appreciably. What
was the potential difference between the component lead and the circuit before we disconnected
the component’s lead? (Hint: At that time, the circuit and the lead were at the same point.)

What potential difference would we prefer between the component’s loose end and the circuit
while the ammeter is in the circuit?

What potential difference would we prefer between the ammeter’s leads?

Assume that the current flowing through the ammeter is nonzero and decide what resistance we
would prefer our ammeters to have. (Hint: Equation (1))

In the real world, we cannot build ammeters with zero input resistance that actually measure
electric current. Neither can we build voltmeters with infinite input resistance that actually
measure electric potential difference. In the real world, modern ammeters have input resistance
~1 mW-10 mW. In the real world, modern voltmeters have input resistance 10 MW-1000 GW.
Assume your ammeter’s input resistance is 10 mW = 0.01 W. How much current will flow
through the ammeter if it is connected to an ideal 1 V battery?

It is very important that we never ever connect an ammeter across a voltage source. Doing
so will definitely blow the ammeter’s fuse and might destroy the ammeter and/or the voltage
source circuitry.

Analysis of Results
How well do your data fit a line through the origin?

How well do your graph slopes agree with the respective resistance?

Conclusions
If we were writing a report on this exercise, we would want to report whether our data support
Equation (1). Since manufacturing processes give us very good control over length, L, area, A,
and material composition, r, we can manufacturer resistors having a desired value to good
precision (5% is very cheap these days and 1% is reasonable.) This capability gives us control
over electric currents and allows us to design precision devices and instrumentation using Ohm’s
law.

History and Summary

When Ohm first published V=IR in 1827, electric components were restricted to several soft
elemental metals drawn into wires and to lamp black. The wires could be insulated with shellac
and baked to harden the shellac. Coils of wire could then be formed. Circa 1820 it was found
that a coil of wire would move a permanent magnet and that the torque would be proportional to
the current through the coil. When combined with a Hooke’s law spring, this galvanometer
allowed experimenters to quantify electric currents.
When Ohm first published V=IR in 1827, the only reliable potential difference resulted from
voltaic piles – primitive electrochemical batteries – invented by Alessandro Volta in 1799. Ohm
found that his galvanometer deflected in proportion to the number of cells in his voltaic pile. He
also found that this was true for all materials he could form into resistors.
Ohm’s understanding of V(I) was widely accepted into the twentieth century. But our
improved grasp of chemistry and our ability to fabricate vacuum tubes would soon demonstrate
that Ohm’s “law” has exceptions and therefore cannot be a physical law. As one exception, we
found that heating one element in a vacuum tube caused electrons to “boil” off. When this
electrode has a more negative potential than the cool electrode, electrons move freely to the
positive electrode and a constant current is formed. When the bias is reversed, the electrons are
attracted to the hot electrode and do not move. Since the negative electrode is too cold to “boil”
V
off electrons, no current is formed, I =0 ≠ . This results in a diode that allows current to flow
R
in only one direction.
We also have found that semiconductor diodes and transistors do not obey Ohm’s law.
Neither do most conductive plastics. Additionally, semiconductors’ resistance varies extremely
with light intensity. Although these properties are quite useful as sensors and amplifiers, they
demonstrate that Ohm’s “law” is a special case.
Don’t neglect your other classes, but feel free to play with the simulation to improve your
understanding of electric potential and current.