Resistors

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Resistors
Resistors are electronic components that oppose the flow of current. Manufactured in various types and ranges they have a wide application to electronics.

The relationship between voltage and current in a resistor is given by Ohm's Law:

Identification and Values

Colour Code

When inspecting resistors, the given value is either printed on the body is can be determined from the resistor colour code.

Resistor Colour Code
Example

Red(2)Blue(6)Green(5)
=2600000
=2.6 MΩ

The first two bands are the value and the third band is a decimal multiplier (10x).

Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Grey White

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

The fourth band give the tolerance:

Gold Silver None

5%

10%

20%

For precision resistors, sometimes a five band colour coding is used – first three bands are the value, fourth band is the multiplier and the fifth band is the tolerance.

Preferred Values

Resistors are manufactured and specified in a range of preferred values.

The table shows the range of preferred values:

 10 12 15 18 22 27 33 39 47 56 68 82

Note: to obtain full range, multiply table by 10X

Circuit Arrangements

For more information on circuit arrangements and how to work these out, please see the following note:

More interesting Notes:

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

myElectrical Engineering

1. resistor says:
8/7/2012 2:58 PM

There also exist 6 band resistors, where the 6th band often refers to the thermal coefficient. for more information on resistor color codes http://www.resistorguide.com/resistor-color-code

• Steven says:
8/8/2012 7:59 AM

Thanks for the information on the sixth band. Your site all about resistors is interesting; good luck with it.

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