Ohm's Law Formula:
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Definition: Ohm's Law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current flowing through it, with resistance being the constant of proportionality.
Purpose: It's a fundamental principle used to analyze and design electrical circuits, helping engineers and technicians calculate voltage, current, or resistance when two of these values are known.
The calculator uses the formula:
Where:
Explanation: The current (in amps) is multiplied by the resistance (in ohms) to calculate the voltage (in volts).
Details: Understanding and applying Ohm's Law is essential for circuit design, troubleshooting electrical systems, and ensuring proper component selection in DC circuits.
Tips: Enter the current in amperes and resistance in ohms. Both values must be positive numbers. The calculator will compute the voltage according to Ohm's Law.
Q1: Does Ohm's Law apply to AC circuits?
A: Ohm's Law in its basic form applies to purely resistive DC circuits. For AC circuits, impedance (which includes resistance, inductance, and capacitance) must be considered.
Q2: What's a typical current for small DC circuits?
A: Small electronic circuits often operate in the milliampere (mA) range (0.001-0.5A), while power circuits might use several amperes.
Q3: How do I measure resistance?
A: Use a multimeter set to ohms (Ω) to measure resistance when the circuit is powered off.
Q4: What if I know voltage and need to find current?
A: Rearrange the formula: \( I = \frac{V}{R} \). Similarly, \( R = \frac{V}{I} \) if you need to find resistance.
Q5: Why does my calculation sometimes not match real-world measurements?
A: Real components may have variable resistance due to temperature, material imperfections, or other factors not accounted for in basic Ohm's Law calculations.