# Electrical resistance and conductance | relation to resistivity and conductivity

## Relation to resistivity and conductivity

A piece of resistive material with electrical contacts on both ends.

The resistance of a given object depends primarily on two factors: What material it is made of, and its shape. For a given material, the resistance is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area; for example, a thick copper wire has lower resistance than an otherwise-identical thin copper wire. Also, for a given material, the resistance is proportional to the length; for example, a long copper wire has higher resistance than an otherwise-identical short copper wire. The resistance R and conductance G of a conductor of uniform cross section, therefore, can be computed as

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}R&=\rho {\frac {\ell }{A}},\\G&=\sigma {\frac {A}{\ell }}.\end{aligned}}}

where ${\displaystyle \ell }$ is the length of the conductor, measured in metres [m], A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor measured in square metres [m²], σ (sigma) is the electrical conductivity measured in siemens per meter (S·m−1), and ρ (rho) is the electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance) of the material, measured in ohm-metres (Ω·m). The resistivity and conductivity are proportionality constants, and therefore depend only on the material the wire is made of, not the geometry of the wire. Resistivity and conductivity are reciprocals: ${\displaystyle \rho =1/\sigma }$. Resistivity is a measure of the material's ability to oppose electric current.

This formula is not exact, as it assumes the current density is totally uniform in the conductor, which is not always true in practical situations. However, this formula still provides a good approximation for long thin conductors such as wires.

Another situation for which this formula is not exact is with alternating current (AC), because the skin effect inhibits current flow near the center of the conductor. For this reason, the geometrical cross-section is different from the effective cross-section in which current actually flows, so resistance is higher than expected. Similarly, if two conductors near each other carry AC current, their resistances increase due to the proximity effect. At commercial power frequency, these effects are significant for large conductors carrying large currents, such as busbars in an electrical substation,[3] or large power cables carrying more than a few hundred amperes.

The resistivity of different materials varies by an enormous amount: For example, the conductivity of teflon is about 1030 times lower than the conductivity of copper. Why is there such a difference? Loosely speaking, a metal has large numbers of "delocalized" electrons that are not stuck in any one place, but free to move across large distances, whereas in an insulator (like teflon), each electron is tightly bound to a single molecule, and a great force is required to pull it away. Semiconductors lie between these two extremes. More details can be found in the article: Electrical resistivity and conductivity. For the case of electrolyte solutions, see the article: Conductivity (electrolytic).

Resistivity varies with temperature. In semiconductors, resistivity also changes when exposed to light. See below.

Other Languages
azərbaycanca: Elektrik müqaviməti
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Bân-lâm-gú: Tiān-chó͘
беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎: Супор
chiShona: Mukweso
dansk: Resistans
eesti: Takistus
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íslenska: Rafmótstaða
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македонски: Електричен отпор
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norsk nynorsk: Elektrisk motstand
oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча: Elektr qarshilik
Plattdüütsch: Elektrisch Wedderstand
polski: Rezystancja
Seeltersk: Wierstand
Simple English: Electrical resistance
slovenčina: Elektrický odpor
slovenščina: Električni upor
српски / srpski: Електрични отпор
srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски: Električni otpor
svenska: Resistans
Tagalog: Resistensiya
தமிழ்: மின்தடை
татарча/tatarça: Электр каршылыгы
українська: Електричний опір
ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche: قارشىلىق
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