Joule heating, also known as resistive, resistance, or Ohmic heating, is the process by which

the passage of an electric current through a conductor produces heat.

Joule's first law (also just Joule's law), also known as the Joule–Lenz law,[1] states that the
power of heating generated by an electrical conductor is proportional to the product of its
resistance and the square of the current:

{\displaystyle P\propto I^{2}R}{\displaystyle P\propto I^{2}R}

Joule heating affects the whole electric conductor, unlike the Peltier effect which transfers
heat from one electrical junction to another.

Contents

1 History

2 Microscopic description

3 Power loss and noise

4 Formulas

4.1 Direct current

4.2 Alternating current

4.3 Differential form

5 High-voltage alternating current transmission of electricity

6 Applications

6.1 Food processing

6.2 Materials synthesis and processing

7 Heating efficiency

8 Hydraulic equivalent

9 See also

10 References

History

James Prescott Joule first published in December 1840, an abstract in the Proceedings of the
Royal Society, suggesting that heat could be generated by an electrical current. Joule
immersed a length of wire in a fixed mass of water and measured the temperature rise due to
a known current flowing through the wire for a 30 minute period. By varying the current and
the length of the wire he deduced that the heat produced was proportional to the square of
the current multiplied by the electrical resistance of the immersed wire.[2]

In 1841 and 1842, subsequent experiments showed that the amount of heat generated was
proportional to the chemical energy used in the voltaic pile that generated the template. This
led Joule to reject the caloric theory (at that time the dominant theory) in favor of the
mechanical theory of heat (according to which heat is another form of energy).[2]

Resistive heating was independently studied by Heinrich Lenz in 1842.[1]

The SI unit of energy was subsequently named the joule and given the symbol J. The
commonly known unit of power, the watt, is equivalent to one joule per second.

Microscopic description

See also: Electrical resistivity and conductivity, Drift velocity, and Drude model

Joule heating is caused by interactions between charge carriers (usually electrons) and the
body of the conductor (usually atomic ions).

A voltage difference between two points of a conductor creates an electric field that
accelerates charge carriers in the direction of the electric field, giving them kinetic energy.
When the charged particles collide with ions in the conductor, the particles are scattered;
their direction of motion becomes random rather than aligned with the electric field, which
constitutes thermal motion. Thus, energy from the electrical field is converted into thermal
energy.[3]

Power loss and noise

Joule heating is referred to as ohmic heating or resistive heating because of its relationship
to Ohm's Law. It forms the basis for the large number of practical applications involving
electric heating. However, in applications where heating is an unwanted by-product of
current use (e.g., load losses in electrical transformers) the diversion of energy is often
referred to as resistive loss. The use of high voltages in electric power transmission systems
is specifically designed to reduce such losses in cabling by operating with commensurately
lower currents. The ring circuits, or ring mains, used in UK homes are another example,
where power is delivered to outlets at lower currents (per wire, by using two paths in
parallel), thus reducing Joule heating in the wires. Joule heating does not occur in
superconducting materials, as these materials have zero electrical resistance in the
superconducting state.
Resistors create electrical noise, called Johnson–Nyquist noise. There is an intimate
relationship between Johnson–Nyquist noise and Joule heating, explained by the fluctuation-
dissipation theorem.

Formulas

Direct current

The most fundamental formula for Joule heating is the generalized power equation:

{\displaystyle P=I(V_{A}-V_{B})}{\displaystyle P=I(V_{A}-V_{B})}

where

{\displaystyle P}P is the power (energy per unit time) converted from electrical energy to
thermal energy,

{\displaystyle I}I is the current travelling through the resistor or other element,

{\displaystyle V_{A}-V_{B}}{\displaystyle V_{A}-V_{B}} is the voltage drop across the element.

The explanation of this formula ({\displaystyle P=IV}{\displaystyle P=IV}) is:[4]

(Energy dissipated per unit time) = (Charge passing through resistor per unit time) × (Energy
dissipated per charge passing through resistor)

Assuming the element behaves as a perfect resistor and that the power is completely
converted into heat, the formula can be re-written by substituting Ohm's law, {\displaystyle
V=I\cdot R}{\displaystyle V=I\cdot R}, into the generalized power equation:

{\displaystyle P=IV=I^{2}R=V^{2}/R}P=IV=I^2R=V^2/R

where R is the resistance.

Alternating current

Main article: AC power

When current varies, as it does in AC circuits,

{\displaystyle P(t)=U(t)I(t)}{\displaystyle P(t)=U(t)I(t)}

where t is time and P is the instantaneous power being converted from electrical energy to
heat. Far more often, the average power is of more interest than the instantaneous power:
{\displaystyle P_{\rm
{avg}}=U_{\text{rms}}I_{\text{rms}}=I_{\text{rms}}^{2}R=U_{\text{rms}}^{2}/R}{\displaystyle
P_{\rm {avg}}=U_{\text{rms}}I_{\text{rms}}=I_{\text{rms}}^{2}R=U_{\text{rms}}^{2}/R}

where "avg" denotes average (mean) over one or more cycles, and "rms" denotes root mean
square.

These formulas are valid for an ideal resistor, with zero reactance. If the reactance is
nonzero, the formulas are modified:

{\displaystyle P_{\rm {avg}}=U_{\text{rms}}I_{\text{rms}}\cos \phi

=I_{\text{rms}}^{2}\operatorname {Re} (Z)=U_{\text{rms}}^{2}\operatorname {Re} (Y^{*})}
{\displaystyle P_{\rm {avg}}=U_{\text{rms}}I_{\text{rms}}\cos \phi
=I_{\text{rms}}^{2}\operatorname {Re} (Z)=U_{\text{rms}}^{2}\operatorname {Re} (Y^{*})}

where {\displaystyle \phi }\phi is phase difference between current and voltage, {\displaystyle
\operatorname {Re} }\operatorname {Re} means real part, Z is the complex impedance, and
Y* is the complex conjugate of the admittance (equal to 1/Z*).

For more details in the reactive case, see AC power∆0}

Differential form

Joule heating can also be calculated at a particular location in space. The differential form of
the Joule heating equation gives the power per unit volume.

{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V=\mathbf {J} \cdot \mathbf {E} }{\displaystyle
\mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V=\mathbf {J} \cdot \mathbf {E} }

Here, {\displaystyle \mathbf {J} }\mathbf {J} is the current density, and {\displaystyle \mathbf
{E} }\mathbf {E} is the electric field. For a material with a conductivity {\displaystyle
\sigma }\sigma , {\displaystyle \mathbf {J} =\sigma \mathbf {E} }\mathbf{J}=\sigma \mathbf{E}
and therefore

{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V=\mathbf {J} \cdot \mathbf {E} =\mathbf {J} \cdot
\mathbf {J} \rho =J^{2}/\sigma }{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V=\mathbf {J}
\cdot \mathbf {E} =\mathbf {J} \cdot \mathbf {J} \rho =J^{2}/\sigma }

where {\displaystyle \rho =1/\sigma }\rho=1/\sigma is the resistivity. This directly resembles
the "{\displaystyle I^{2}R}I^2R" term of the macroscopic form.
In the harmonic case, where all field quantities vary with the angular frequency
{\displaystyle \omega }\omega as {\displaystyle e^{-\mathrm {i} \omega t}}{\displaystyle
e^{-\mathrm {i} \omega t}}, complex valued phasors {\displaystyle {\hat {\mathbf {J} }}}
{\displaystyle {\hat {\mathbf {J} }}} and {\displaystyle {\hat {\mathbf {E} }}}{\displaystyle {\hat
{\mathbf {E} }}} are usually introduced for the current density and the electric field intensity,
respectively. The Joule heating then reads

{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V={\frac {1}{2}}{\hat {\mathbf {J} }}\cdot {\hat
{\mathbf {E} }}^{*}={\frac {1}{2}}{\hat {\mathbf {J} }}\cdot {\hat {\mathbf {J} }}^{*}\rho ={\frac {1}
{2}}J^{2}/\sigma }{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} P/\mathrm {d} V={\frac {1}{2}}{\hat {\mathbf
{J} }}\cdot {\hat {\mathbf {E} }}^{*}={\frac {1}{2}}{\hat {\mathbf {J} }}\cdot {\hat {\mathbf
{J} }}^{*}\rho ={\frac {1}{2}}J^{2}/\sigma },

where {\displaystyle \bullet ^{*}}{\displaystyle \bullet ^{*}} denotes the complex conjugate.

High-voltage alternating current transmission of electricity

Main article: Electric power transmission § Advantage of high-voltage power transmission

See also: Transformer and War of the currents

Overhead power lines transfer electrical energy from electricity producers to consumers.
Those power lines have a nonzero resistance and therefore are subject to Joule heating,
which causes transmission losses.

The split of power between transmission losses (Joule heating in transmission lines) and
load (useful energy delivered to the consumer) can be approximated by a voltage divider. In
order to minimize transmission losses, the resistance of the lines has to be as small as
possible compared to the load (resistance of consumer appliances). Line resistance is
minimized by the use of copper conductors, but the resistance and power supply
specifications of consumer appliances are fixed.

Usually, a transformer is placed between the lines and consumption. When a high-voltage,
low-intensity current in the primary circuit (before the transformer) is converted into a low-
voltage, high-intensity current in the secondary circuit (after the transformer), the equivalent
resistance of the secondary circuit becomes higher[5] and transmission losses are reduced
in proportion.

During the war of currents, AC installations could use transformers to reduce line losses by
Joule heating, at the cost of higher voltage in the transmission lines, compared to DC
installations.

Applications
Joule-heating or resistive-heating is used in multiple devices and industrial process. The part
that converts electricity into heat is called a heating element.

Among the many practical uses are:

An incandescent light bulb glows when the filament is heated by Joule heating, due to
thermal radiation (also called blackbody radiation).

Electric fuses are used as a safety, breaking the circuit by melting if enough current flows to
melt them.

Electronic cigarettes vaporize propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine by Joule heating.

Multiple heating devices use Joule heating, such as electric stoves, electric heaters,
soldering irons, cartridge heaters.

Some food processing equipment may make use of Joule heating: running current through
food material (which behave as an electrical resistor) causes heat release inside the food.[6]
The alternating electrical current coupled with the resistance of the food causes the
generation of heat.[7] A higher resistance increases the heat generated. Ohmic heating
allows for fast and uniform heating of food products, which maintains quality. Products with
particulates heat up faster (compared to conventional heat processing) due to higher
resistance.[8]

Food processing

Joule heating is a flash pasteurization (also called "high-temperature short-time" (HTST))

aseptic process that runs an alternating current of 50–60 Hz through food.[9] Heat is
generated through the food's electrical resistance.[9] As the product heats, electrical
conductivity increases linearly.[7] A higher electrical current frequency is best as it reduces
oxidation and metallic contamination.[9] This heating method is best for foods that contain
particulates suspended in a weak salt-containing medium due to their high resistance
properties.[8][9]

Materials synthesis and processing

Flash joule heating (transient high-temperature electrothermal heating) has been used to
synthesize allotropes of carbon, including graphene and diamond. Heating various solid
carbon feedstocks (carbon black, coal, coffee grounds, etc.) to temperatures of ~3000 K for
10-150 milliseconds produces turbostratic graphene flakes.[10] Beginning from a fluorinated
carbon source, fluorinated activated carbon, fluorinated nanodiamond, concentric carbon
(carbon shell around a nanodiamond core), and fluorinated flash graphene can be
synthesized.[11][12]