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Ohm's Law states that the current through a conductor between two points is
directly proportional to the voltage. This is true for many materials, over a wide
range of voltages and currents, and the resistance and conductance of electronic
components made from these materials remains constant. Ohm's Law is true for
circuits that contain only resistive elements (no capacitors or inductors),
regardless whether the driving voltage or current is constant (DC) or time-varying
(AC). It can be expressed using a number of equations, usually all three together,
as shown below.
V=I×R
V
R=
I
V
I=
R
Where:
V is voltage in Volts
R is resistance in Ohms
I is current in Amperes
Electrical Power
Power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit per
unit time typically expressed in the SI (International System of Units) unit of
Watts. Power is typically produced by electric generators and supplied to
businesses and homes through the electric power industry, but can also be
supplied by electric batteries or other sources.
In resistive circuits, Joule's Law can be combined with Ohm's Law to produce
alternative expressions for the amount of power dissipated, as shown below.
P=V×I
V2
P=
R
2
P = I × R
Where:
P is power in Watts
Although Ohms Law does not apply only to resistors - as we shall see later - it seems logical to
include it now, since it will provide a good reference point to the resistor details given above.
If you treat the (slightly diagonal) horizontal lines as divide signs and the short vertical line as a
multiply sign, and always start your calculation with whatever quantity you're looking for, ie; "V=",
"I=" or "R=" you will have all possible formulae based on this particular Ohms law. That is; V=IxR,
I=V/R, R=V/I. It should be apparent that the formula works the other way too, that is; IxR=V,
RxI=V, V/I=R and V/R=I.
These explanations might seem a little complex, but it is simple to put into practice. Generally a
helpful example would be more understandable for beginners, instead of these fancy tables, so here
goes.
EXPLANATION BY EXAMPLE:
Let's say a friend asks you to fit a red warning light into the dashboard of
his/her car. Being an electronics enthusiast you decide to use a red Light
Emitting Diode (LED), because they produce reasonably pure red light, don't
give off the excessive heat of filament lamps, they're also cheap by comparison
and they look high-tech!
This may, at first, seem to present a problem, since 800 Ohms is not a standard value available in the
E12 range. However, with this type of circuit the resistance is not critical, and the nearest preferred
value will suffice perfectly well, which is 820 Ohms.
This means that, of your 12 volts from the battery, 2 volts will be used up by the LED itself, so your
Ohms law calculation should be based on 10 volts instead. The true formula should actually be; (12-
Vf)/0.015=666.66 Ohms (recurring for the maths wizards amongst you!). The closest value to this in
E12 range is 680 Ohms, so ideally this should be the value to use. As a matter of safety, when your
results end up with obscure values like this, always select the closest value higher, not the next one
down.
RESISTORS IN SERIES:
The figure on the left shows three resistors connected in series with each other.
This is the simplest way to obtain "manufactured" values. The straight line
formula for calculating the final value is; "R" = R1 + R2 + R3. In other words,
irrespective of how many resistors there are, or their individual values, the
final value of "R" will always be the sum of them all. The calculation at the
foot of the image works for any number of values connected in series, you
simply keep adding them to the list of others.
RESISTORS IN PARALLEL:
When resistors are connected in parallel with each other the calculations get a
little more tricky. The figure on the left shows three resistors connected in
parallel. We will not concern ourselves with what the three individual values
are, but concentrate on what the final value of 'R' will be by using example
values. The calculation at the foot of the image works for any number of values
connected in parallel, you simply keep adding them to the list of others inside
the parenthesis. For our purposes let's say R1 is 47K, R2 is 150K and R3 is
820K. The straight line formula for the final value is; "R" = 1/( (1/R1) + (1/R2)
+ (1/R3) ).
There are, what look to be a lot of unnecessary parenthesise (brackets) in this
formula, and here's the reason; with almost all electronics calculations you need to use a calculator
which gives priority to multiply and divide functions, and most scientific calculators work in this
way. Unfortunately, a lot of 'basic' calculators don't, so the additional brackets have been shown to
compensate for those which work out the figures in the order they are entered. With a scientific
calculator you can use the simplified straight line formula; "R" = 1/(1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3).
It's important to work out the values in the parenthesis before applying the final "1/" function. If you
don't, then the formula becomes 1/R1+1/R2+1/R3=? If you try this on your calculator, using our
example values, you will probably think you've got the wrong answer (0.02916...), but you haven't. In
fact, you have exactly the right answer, it's just lacking the final "1/" function.
If your calculator has a "1/X" (one, divided by whatever is shown in the display) function, then press
that button now. If this function isn't available then place the result in memory (making sure there
was nothing in there before), clear the display and then enter "1 � MR =" or other similar sequence.
The result should be 34.29K (34,290.29005 Ohms), which is correct. So, the resulting value of all
three resistors connected in parallel is 34.29K.
Using the formula "I = P/V" from the triangle, the result is; 25 / 9 = 2.77 amps. So this transformer
would be suitable for your 1.5 amp needs. As a matter of safety, if the circuit is going to continuously
draw a certain amount of current, irrespective of what that current might be, then always use a
transformer with at least 50% more available current than your circuit requires. Never use one with
"just enough" current, because it will get far too hot, which causes characteristic changes to the
voltage and current specified. These changes are complex, and we are not going to explain them in
this beginners section, but please do exercise caution when selecting transformers.