Timeline for Confusion regarding current and resistance in series circuit
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 5, 2020 at 12:21 | comment | added | Danny | Thanks, @BobD! That makes sense and clears things up a bit! | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 21:21 | comment | added | Bob D | @Danny The fact that the resistor is dissipating heat tells you that the electrons are losing kinetic energy. But the electric field keeps resupplying them with kinetic energy energy so that there is no decrease in current within the resistor. The overall result is the electrical potential energy supplied by the battery to the electrons is lost and dissipated as heat. Sorry I can't make it clearer than that. | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 21:12 | comment | added | Danny | Thank you, @BobD! I'm still a little confused though. You say that, while in a resistor, electrons slow down a bit but then speed back up again; so how does a resistor result in a decrease in current through this mechanism? | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:39 | history | edited | Bob D | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
additional information
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| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:37 | comment | added | Bob D | See my edit in reply | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:24 | comment | added | Danny | Do the resistors constrict flow, i.e. "squeeze" the particles in more? That would sort of fit... | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:17 | vote | accept | Danny | ||
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:14 | comment | added | Danny | If so, then say a group of particles has just completed the circuit their first time and are starting to loop around again, for a second time. When they encounter the first resistor again, based on what you're saying the current would stay the same as it was. But if resistors slow down particles, it seems current would decrease more... | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:14 | comment | added | Danny | Thank you for your answer, @BobD! Based on what you're saying, the current stays the same once we stop adding resistors, which makes sense. But I feel like I don't fully understand how resistors work/affect current. Do they slow down charged particles in the circuit as they are flowing through the resistors? Is that how resistors decrease current? | |
| Jul 3, 2020 at 20:01 | history | answered | Bob D | CC BY-SA 4.0 |