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Ohm'slaw
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ohm'slawstatesthatthecurrentthroughaconductorbetweentwopointsisdirectly
proportionaltothevoltageacrossthetwopoints.Introducingtheconstantof
proportionality,theresistance,[1]onearrivesattheusualmathematicalequationthat
describesthisrelationship:[2]

whereIisthecurrentthroughtheconductorinunitsofamperes,Visthevoltage
measuredacrosstheconductorinunitsofvolts,andRistheresistanceofthe
conductorinunitsofohms.Morespecifically,Ohm'slawstatesthattheRinthis
relationisconstant,independentofthecurrent.[3]

V,I,andR,the
parametersofOhm'slaw.

ThelawwasnamedaftertheGermanphysicistGeorgOhm,who,inatreatise
publishedin1827,describedmeasurementsofappliedvoltageandcurrentthrough
simpleelectricalcircuitscontainingvariouslengthsofwire.Hepresentedaslightlymorecomplexequationthan
theoneabove(seeHistorysectionbelow)toexplainhisexperimentalresults.Theaboveequationisthemodern
formofOhm'slaw.

Inphysics,thetermOhm'slawisalsousedtorefertovariousgeneralizationsofthelaworiginallyformulatedby
Ohm.Thesimplestexampleofthisis:

whereJisthecurrentdensityatagivenlocationinaresistivematerial,Eistheelectricfieldatthatlocation,and
(Sigma)isamaterialdependentparametercalledtheconductivity.ThisreformulationofOhm'slawisdueto
GustavKirchhoff.[4]

Contents
1
2
3
4
5

History
Scope
Microscopicorigins
Hydraulicanalogy
Circuitanalysis
5.1 Resistivecircuits
5.2 Reactivecircuitswithtimevaryingsignals
5.3 Linearapproximations
6 Temperatureeffects
7 Relationtoheatconductions
8 Otherversions
8.1 Magneticeffects
8.2 Conductivefluids
9 Seealso
10 References
11 Externallinks
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11 Externallinks

History
InJanuary1781,beforeGeorgOhm'swork,HenryCavendishexperimented
withLeydenjarsandglasstubesofvaryingdiameterandlengthfilledwithsalt
solution.Hemeasuredthecurrentbynotinghowstrongashockhefeltashe
completedthecircuitwithhisbody.Cavendishwrotethatthe"velocity"
(current)varieddirectlyasthe"degreeofelectrification"(voltage).Hedidnot
communicatehisresultstootherscientistsatthetime,[5]andhisresultswere
unknownuntilMaxwellpublishedthemin1879.[6]
FrancisRonaldsdelineatedintensity(voltage)andquantity(current)under
differentconditionsforthedrypileahighvoltagesourcein1814usinga
goldleafelectrometer.Hefoundtherelationshipbetweenthetwotobe
nonlinearforadrypile.[7][8]
Ohmdidhisworkonresistanceintheyears1825and1826,andpublishedhis
resultsin1827asthebookDiegalvanischeKette,mathematischbearbeitet
("Thegalvaniccircuitinvestigatedmathematically").[9]Hedrewconsiderable
inspirationfromFourier'sworkonheatconductioninthetheoretical
explanationofhiswork.Forexperiments,heinitiallyusedvoltaicpiles,but
laterusedathermocoupleasthisprovidedamorestablevoltagesourcein
termsofinternalresistanceandconstantvoltage.Heusedagalvanometer
tomeasurecurrent,andknewthatthevoltagebetweenthethermocouple
terminalswasproportionaltothejunctiontemperature.Hethenaddedtest
wiresofvaryinglength,diameter,andmaterialtocompletethecircuit.He
foundthathisdatacouldbemodeledthroughtheequation

GeorgOhm

Ohm'slawinGeorgOhm'slabbook.

wherexwasthereadingfromthegalvanometer,lwasthelengthofthetest
conductor,adependedonlyonthethermocouplejunctiontemperature,and
bwasaconstantoftheentiresetup.Fromthis,Ohmdeterminedhislawofproportionalityandpublishedhis
results.
Ohm'slawwasprobablythemostimportantoftheearlyquantitativedescriptionsofthephysicsofelectricity.We
consideritalmostobvioustoday.WhenOhmfirstpublishedhiswork,thiswasnotthecasecriticsreactedtohis
treatmentofthesubjectwithhostility.Theycalledhisworka"webofnakedfancies"[10]andtheGermanMinister
ofEducationproclaimedthat"aprofessorwhopreachedsuchheresieswasunworthytoteachscience."[11]The
prevailingscientificphilosophyinGermanyatthetimeassertedthatexperimentsneednotbeperformedto
developanunderstandingofnaturebecausenatureissowellordered,andthatscientifictruthsmaybededuced
throughreasoningalone.[12]Also,Ohm'sbrotherMartin,amathematician,wasbattlingtheGermaneducational
system.ThesefactorshinderedtheacceptanceofOhm'swork,andhisworkdidnotbecomewidelyaccepteduntil
the1840s.Fortunately,Ohmreceivedrecognitionforhiscontributionstosciencewellbeforehedied.

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Inthe1850s,Ohm'slawwasknownassuchandwaswidelyconsideredproved,andalternatives,suchas"Barlow's
law",werediscredited,intermsofrealapplicationstotelegraphsystemdesign,asdiscussedbySamuelF.B.
Morsein1855.[13]
Whiletheoldtermforelectricalconductance,themho(theinverseoftheresistanceunitohm),isstillused,anew
name,thesiemens,wasadoptedin1971,honoringErnstWernervonSiemens.Thesiemensispreferredinformal
papers.
Inthe1920s,itwasdiscoveredthatthecurrentthroughapracticalresistoractuallyhasstatisticalfluctuations,
whichdependontemperature,evenwhenvoltageandresistanceareexactlyconstantthisfluctuation,nowknown
asJohnsonNyquistnoise,isduetothediscretenatureofcharge.Thisthermaleffectimpliesthatmeasurementsof
currentandvoltagethataretakenoversufficientlyshortperiodsoftimewillyieldratiosofV/Ithatfluctuatefrom
thevalueofRimpliedbythetimeaverageorensembleaverageofthemeasuredcurrentOhm'slawremains
correctfortheaveragecurrent,inthecaseofordinaryresistivematerials.
Ohm'sworklongprecededMaxwell'sequationsandanyunderstandingoffrequencydependenteffectsinAC
circuits.ModerndevelopmentsinelectromagnetictheoryandcircuittheorydonotcontradictOhm'slawwhenthey
areevaluatedwithintheappropriatelimits.

Scope
Ohm'slawisanempiricallaw,ageneralizationfrommanyexperimentsthathaveshownthatcurrentis
approximatelyproportionaltoelectricfieldformostmaterials.ItislessfundamentalthanMaxwell'sequationsand
isnotalwaysobeyed.Anygivenmaterialwillbreakdownunderastrongenoughelectricfield,andsomematerials
ofinterestinelectricalengineeringare"nonohmic"underweakfields.[14][15]
Ohm'slawhasbeenobservedonawiderangeoflengthscales.Intheearly20thcentury,itwasthoughtthatOhm's
lawwouldfailattheatomicscale,butexperimentshavenotborneoutthisexpectation.Asof2012,researchers
havedemonstratedthatOhm'slawworksforsiliconwiresassmallasfouratomswideandoneatomhigh.[16]

Microscopicorigins
Thedependenceofthecurrentdensityontheappliedelectricfieldis
essentiallyquantummechanicalinnature(seeClassicalandquantum
conductivity.)AqualitativedescriptionleadingtoOhm'slawcanbebased
uponclassicalmechanicsusingtheDrudemodeldevelopedbyPaulDrudein
1900.[17][18]
TheDrudemodeltreatselectrons(orotherchargecarriers)likepinballs
bouncingamongtheionsthatmakeupthestructureofthematerial.Electrons
willbeacceleratedintheoppositedirectiontotheelectricfieldbytheaverage
electricfieldattheirlocation.Witheachcollision,though,theelectronis
deflectedinarandomdirectionwithavelocitythatismuchlargerthanthe
velocitygainedbytheelectricfield.Thenetresultisthatelectronstakea
zigzagpathduetothecollisions,butgenerallydriftinadirectionopposingthe
electricfield.

DrudeModelelectrons(shown
hereinblue)constantlybounce
amongheavier,stationarycrystal
ions(showninred).

Thedriftvelocitythendeterminestheelectriccurrentdensityandits
relationshiptoEandisindependentofthecollisions.Drudecalculatedtheaveragedriftvelocityfromp=eE
wherepistheaveragemomentum,eisthechargeoftheelectronandistheaveragetimebetweenthecollisions.
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Sinceboththemomentumandthecurrentdensityareproportionaltothedriftvelocity,thecurrentdensitybecomes
proportionaltotheappliedelectricfieldthisleadstoOhm'slaw.

Hydraulicanalogy
AhydraulicanalogyissometimesusedtodescribeOhm'slaw.Waterpressure,measuredbypascals(orPSI),isthe
analogofvoltagebecauseestablishingawaterpressuredifferencebetweentwopointsalonga(horizontal)pipe
causeswatertoflow.Waterflowrate,asinliterspersecond,istheanalogofcurrent,asincoulombspersecond.
Finally,flowrestrictorssuchasaperturesplacedinpipesbetweenpointswherethewaterpressureismeasured
aretheanalogofresistors.Wesaythattherateofwaterflowthroughanaperturerestrictorisproportionaltothe
differenceinwaterpressureacrosstherestrictor.Similarly,therateofflowofelectricalcharge,thatis,theelectric
current,throughanelectricalresistorisproportionaltothedifferenceinvoltagemeasuredacrosstheresistor.
Flowandpressurevariablescanbecalculatedinfluidflownetworkwiththeuseofthehydraulicohm
analogy.[19][20]Themethodcanbeappliedtobothsteadyandtransientflowsituations.Inthelinearlaminarflow
region,Poiseuille'slawdescribesthehydraulicresistanceofapipe,butintheturbulentflowregionthepressure
flowrelationsbecomenonlinear.
ThehydraulicanalogytoOhm'slawhasbeenused,forexample,toapproximatebloodflowthroughthe
circulatorysystem.[21]

Circuitanalysis
Incircuitanalysis,threeequivalentexpressionsofOhm'slawareusedinterchangeably:

EachequationisquotedbysomesourcesasthedefiningrelationshipofOhm's
law,[2][22][23]orallthreearequoted,[24]orderivedfromaproportionalform,[25]oreven
justthetwothatdonotcorrespondtoOhm'soriginalstatementmaysometimesbe
given.[26][27]

Ohm'slawtriangle

Theinterchangeabilityoftheequationmayberepresentedbyatriangle,whereV(voltage)isplacedonthetop
section,theI(current)isplacedtotheleftsection,andtheR(resistance)isplacedtotheright.Thelinethatdivides
theleftandrightsectionsindicatemultiplication,andthedividerbetweenthetopandbottomsectionsindicates
division(hencethedivisionbar).

Resistivecircuits
ResistorsarecircuitelementsthatimpedethepassageofelectricchargeinagreementwithOhm'slaw,andare
designedtohaveaspecificresistancevalueR.Inaschematicdiagramtheresistorisshownasazigzagsymbol.
Anelement(resistororconductor)thatbehavesaccordingtoOhm'slawoversomeoperatingrangeisreferredtoas
anohmicdevice(oranohmicresistor)becauseOhm'slawandasinglevaluefortheresistancesufficetodescribe
thebehaviorofthedeviceoverthatrange.
Ohm'slawholdsforcircuitscontainingonlyresistiveelements(nocapacitancesorinductances)forallformsof
drivingvoltageorcurrent,regardlessofwhetherthedrivingvoltageorcurrentisconstant(DC)ortimevarying
suchasAC.AtanyinstantoftimeOhm'slawisvalidforsuchcircuits.
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Resistorswhichareinseriesorinparallelmaybegroupedtogetherintoasingle"equivalentresistance"inorderto
applyOhm'slawinanalyzingthecircuit.

Reactivecircuitswithtimevaryingsignals
Whenreactiveelementssuchascapacitors,inductors,ortransmissionlinesareinvolvedinacircuittowhichAC
ortimevaryingvoltageorcurrentisapplied,therelationshipbetweenvoltageandcurrentbecomesthesolutionto
adifferentialequation,soOhm'slaw(asdefinedabove)doesnotdirectlyapplysincethatformcontainsonly
resistanceshavingvalueR,notcompleximpedanceswhichmaycontaincapacitance("C")orinductance("L").
EquationsfortimeinvariantACcircuitstakethesameformasOhm'slaw.However,thevariablesaregeneralized
tocomplexnumbersandthecurrentandvoltagewaveformsarecomplexexponentials.[28]
Inthisapproach,avoltageorcurrentwaveformtakestheform
,wheretistime,sisacomplexparameter,and
Aisacomplexscalar.Inanylineartimeinvariantsystem,allofthecurrentsandvoltagescanbeexpressedwith
thesamesparameterastheinputtothesystem,allowingthetimevaryingcomplexexponentialtermtobe
canceledoutandthesystemdescribedalgebraicallyintermsofthecomplexscalarsinthecurrentandvoltage
waveforms.
Thecomplexgeneralizationofresistanceisimpedance,usuallydenotedZitcanbeshownthatforaninductor,

andforacapacitor,

Wecannowwrite,

whereVandIarethecomplexscalarsinthevoltageandcurrentrespectivelyandZisthecompleximpedance.
ThisformofOhm'slaw,withZtakingtheplaceofR,generalizesthesimplerform.WhenZiscomplex,onlythe
realpartisresponsiblefordissipatingheat.
InthegeneralACcircuit,Zvariesstronglywiththefrequencyparameters,andsoalsowilltherelationship
betweenvoltageandcurrent.
Forthecommoncaseofasteadysinusoid,thesparameteristakentobe ,correspondingtoacomplexsinusoid
.Therealpartsofsuchcomplexcurrentandvoltagewaveformsdescribetheactualsinusoidalcurrentsand
voltagesinacircuit,whichcanbeindifferentphasesduetothedifferentcomplexscalars.

Linearapproximations
Ohm'slawisoneofthebasicequationsusedintheanalysisofelectricalcircuits.Itappliestobothmetal
conductorsandcircuitcomponents(resistors)specificallymadeforthisbehaviour.Bothareubiquitousinelectrical
engineering.MaterialsandcomponentsthatobeyOhm'slawaredescribedas"ohmic"[29]whichmeansthey
producethesamevalueforresistance(R=V/I)regardlessofthevalueofVorIwhichisappliedandwhetherthe
appliedvoltageorcurrentisDC(directcurrent)ofeitherpositiveornegativepolarityorAC(alternatingcurrent).
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Inatrueohmicdevice,thesamevalueofresistancewillbecalculatedfromR=V/Iregardlessofthevalueofthe
appliedvoltageV.Thatis,theratioofV/Iisconstant,andwhencurrentisplottedasafunctionofvoltagethecurve
islinear(astraightline).IfvoltageisforcedtosomevalueV,thenthatvoltageVdividedbymeasuredcurrentI
willequalR.OrifthecurrentisforcedtosomevalueI,thenthemeasuredvoltageVdividedbythatcurrentIis
alsoR.SincetheplotofIversusVisastraightline,thenitisalsotruethatforanysetoftwodifferentvoltagesV1
andV2appliedacrossagivendeviceofresistanceR,producingcurrentsI1=V1/RandI2=V2/R,thattheratio
(V1V2)/(I1I2)isalsoaconstantequaltoR.Theoperator"delta"()isusedtorepresentadifferenceinaquantity,
sowecanwriteV=V1V2andI=I1I2.Summarizing,foranytrulyohmicdevicehavingresistanceR,V/I=
V/I=Rforanyappliedvoltageorcurrentorforthedifferencebetweenanysetofappliedvoltagesorcurrents.
Thereare,however,componentsofelectrical
circuitswhichdonotobeyOhm'slawthatis,
theirrelationshipbetweencurrentandvoltage
(theirIVcurve)isnonlinear(ornonohmic).
Anexampleisthepnjunctiondiode(curveat
right).Asseeninthefigure,thecurrentdoes
TheIVcurvesoffourdevices:Tworesistors,adiode,andabattery.
notincreaselinearlywithappliedvoltagefora
ThetworesistorsfollowOhm'slaw:Theplotisastraightline
diode.Onecandetermineavalueofcurrent(I)
throughtheorigin.TheothertwodevicesdonotfollowOhm'slaw.
foragivenvalueofappliedvoltage(V)from
thecurve,butnotfromOhm'slaw,sincethe
valueof"resistance"isnotconstantasafunctionofappliedvoltage.Further,thecurrentonlyincreases
significantlyiftheappliedvoltageispositive,notnegative.TheratioV/Iforsomepointalongthenonlinearcurve
issometimescalledthestatic,orchordal,orDC,resistance,[30][31]butasseeninthefigurethevalueoftotalV
overtotalIvariesdependingontheparticularpointalongthenonlinearcurvewhichischosen.Thismeansthe
"DCresistance"V/IatsomepointonthecurveisnotthesameaswhatwouldbedeterminedbyapplyinganAC
signalhavingpeakamplitudeVvoltsorIampscenteredatthatsamepointalongthecurveandmeasuringV/
I.However,insomediodeapplications,theACsignalappliedtothedeviceissmallanditispossibletoanalyze
thecircuitintermsofthedynamic,smallsignal,orincrementalresistance,definedastheoneovertheslopeofthe
VIcurveattheaveragevalue(DCoperatingpoint)ofthevoltage(thatis,oneoverthederivativeofcurrentwith
respecttovoltage).Forsufficientlysmallsignals,thedynamicresistanceallowstheOhm'slawsmallsignal
resistancetobecalculatedasapproximatelyoneovertheslopeofalinedrawntangentiallytotheVIcurveatthe
DCoperatingpoint.[32]

Temperatureeffects
Ohm'slawhassometimesbeenstatedas,"foraconductorinagivenstate,theelectromotiveforceisproportional
tothecurrentproduced."Thatis,thattheresistance,theratiooftheappliedelectromotiveforce(orvoltage)tothe
current,"doesnotvarywiththecurrentstrength."Thequalifier"inagivenstate"isusuallyinterpretedasmeaning
"ataconstanttemperature,"sincetheresistivityofmaterialsisusuallytemperaturedependent.Becausethe
conductionofcurrentisrelatedtoJouleheatingoftheconductingbody,accordingtoJoule'sfirstlaw,the
temperatureofaconductingbodymaychangewhenitcarriesacurrent.Thedependenceofresistanceon
temperaturethereforemakesresistancedependuponthecurrentinatypicalexperimentalsetup,makingthelawin
thisformdifficulttodirectlyverify.Maxwellandothersworkedoutseveralmethodstotestthelawexperimentally
in1876,controllingforheatingeffects.[33]

Relationtoheatconductions
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Ohm'sprinciplepredictstheflowofelectricalcharge(i.e.current)inelectricalconductorswhensubjectedtothe
influenceofvoltagedifferencesJeanBaptisteJosephFourier'sprinciplepredictstheflowofheatinheat
conductorswhensubjectedtotheinfluenceoftemperaturedifferences.
Thesameequationdescribesbothphenomena,theequation'svariablestakingondifferentmeaningsinthetwo
cases.Specifically,solvingaheatconduction(Fourier)problemwithtemperature(thedriving"force")andfluxof
heat(therateofflowofthedriven"quantity",i.e.heatenergy)variablesalsosolvesananalogouselectrical
conduction(Ohm)problemhavingelectricpotential(thedriving"force")andelectriccurrent(therateofflowof
thedriven"quantity",i.e.charge)variables.
ThebasisofFourier'sworkwashisclearconceptionanddefinitionofthermalconductivity.Heassumedthat,all
elsebeingthesame,thefluxofheatisstrictlyproportionaltothegradientoftemperature.Althoughundoubtedly
trueforsmalltemperaturegradients,strictlyproportionalbehaviorwillbelostwhenrealmaterials(e.g.ones
havingathermalconductivitythatisafunctionoftemperature)aresubjectedtolargetemperaturegradients.
AsimilarassumptionismadeinthestatementofOhm'slaw:otherthingsbeingalike,thestrengthofthecurrentat
eachpointisproportionaltothegradientofelectricpotential.Theaccuracyoftheassumptionthatflowis
proportionaltothegradientismorereadilytested,usingmodernmeasurementmethods,fortheelectricalcasethan
fortheheatcase.

Otherversions
Ohm'slaw,intheformabove,isanextremelyusefulequationinthefieldofelectrical/electronicengineering
becauseitdescribeshowvoltage,currentandresistanceareinterrelatedona"macroscopic"level,thatis,
commonly,ascircuitelementsinanelectricalcircuit.Physicistswhostudytheelectricalpropertiesofmatteratthe
microscopicleveluseacloselyrelatedandmoregeneralvectorequation,sometimesalsoreferredtoasOhm'slaw,
havingvariablesthatarecloselyrelatedtotheV,I,andRscalarvariablesofOhm'slaw,butwhichareeach
functionsofpositionwithintheconductor.PhysicistsoftenusethiscontinuumformofOhm'sLaw:[34]

where"E"istheelectricfieldvectorwithunitsofvoltspermeter(analogousto"V"ofOhm'slawwhichhasunits
ofvolts),"J"isthecurrentdensityvectorwithunitsofamperesperunitarea(analogousto"I"ofOhm'slawwhich
hasunitsofamperes),and""(Greek"rho")istheresistivitywithunitsofohmmeters(analogousto"R"ofOhm's
lawwhichhasunitsofohms).Theaboveequationissometimeswritten[35]asJ= Ewhere""(Greek"sigma")is
theconductivitywhichisthereciprocalof.
Thevoltagebetweentwopointsisdefinedas:[36]

with theelementofpathalongtheintegrationofelectricfieldvectorE.IftheappliedEfieldisuniformand
orientedalongthelengthoftheconductorasshowninthefigure,thendefiningthevoltageVintheusual
conventionofbeingoppositeindirectiontothefield(seefigure),andwiththeunderstandingthatthevoltageVis
measureddifferentiallyacrossthelengthoftheconductorallowingustodropthesymbol,theabovevector
equationreducestothescalarequation:

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SincetheEfieldisuniforminthedirectionofwirelength,fora
conductorhavinguniformlyconsistentresistivity,thecurrent
densityJwillalsobeuniforminanycrosssectionalareaand
orientedinthedirectionofwirelength,sowemaywrite:[37]

Substitutingtheabove2results(forEandJrespectively)into
thecontinuumformshownatthebeginningofthissection:
Currentflowingthroughauniformcylindrical
conductor(suchasaroundwire)withauniform
fieldapplied.

Theelectricalresistanceofauniformconductorisgivenin
termsofresistivityby:[37]

wherelisthelengthoftheconductorinSIunitsofmeters,aisthecrosssectionalarea(foraroundwirea=r2if
risradius)inunitsofmeterssquared,andistheresistivityinunitsofohmmeters.
AftersubstitutionofRfromtheaboveequationintotheequationprecedingit,thecontinuumformofOhm'slaw
forauniformfield(anduniformcurrentdensity)orientedalongthelengthoftheconductorreducestothemore
familiarform:

Aperfectcrystallattice,withlowenoughthermalmotionandnodeviationsfromperiodicstructure,wouldhaveno
resistivity,[38]butarealmetalhascrystallographicdefects,impurities,multipleisotopes,andthermalmotionofthe
atoms.Electronsscatterfromallofthese,resultinginresistancetotheirflow.
ThemorecomplexgeneralizedformsofOhm'slawareimportanttocondensedmatterphysics,whichstudiesthe
propertiesofmatterand,inparticular,itselectronicstructure.Inbroadterms,theyfallunderthetopicof
constitutiveequationsandthetheoryoftransportcoefficients.

Magneticeffects
IfanexternalBfieldispresentandtheconductorisnotatrestbutmovingatvelocityv,thenanextratermmustbe
addedtoaccountforthecurrentinducedbytheLorentzforceonthechargecarriers.

Intherestframeofthemovingconductorthistermdropsoutbecausev=0.Thereisnocontradictionbecausethe
electricfieldintherestframediffersfromtheEfieldinthelabframe:E'=E+vB.Electricandmagneticfields
arerelative,seeLorentztransformation.
IfthecurrentJisalternatingbecausetheappliedvoltageorEfieldvariesintime,thenreactancemustbeaddedto
resistancetoaccountforselfinductance,seeelectricalimpedance.Thereactancemaybestrongifthefrequencyis
highortheconductoriscoiled.
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Conductivefluids
Inaconductivefluid,suchasaplasma,thereisasimilareffect.Considerafluidmovingwiththevelocity ina
magneticfield .Therelativemotioninducesanelectricfield whichexertselectricforceonthecharged
particlesgivingrisetoanelectriccurrent .Theequationofmotionfortheelectrongas,withanumberdensity
iswrittenas

where , and arethecharge,massandvelocityoftheelectrons,respectively.Also, isthefrequencyof

collisionsoftheelectronswithionswhichhaveavelocityfield .Since,theelectronhasaverysmallmass
comparedwiththatofions,wecanignorethelefthandsideoftheaboveequationtowrite

wherewehaveusedthedefinitionofthecurrentdensity,andalsoput

whichistheelectrical

conductivity.Thisequationcanalsobeequivalentlywrittenas

where
istheelectricalresistivity.Itisalsocommontowrite insteadof whichcanbeconfusingsince
itisthesamenotationusedforthemagneticdiffusivitydefinedas
.

Seealso
Fick'slawofdiffusion
Hopkinson'slaw("Ohm'slawformagnetics")
Maximumpowertransfertheorem
Norton'stheorem
Sheetresistance
Superpositiontheorem
Thermalnoise
Thvenin'stheorem

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JohnC.SheddandMayoD.Hershey,"TheHistoryofOhm'sLaw"(http://books.google.com/books?id=8CQ
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MortonL.Schagrin,"ResistancetoOhm'sLaw"(http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.1969620),AmericanJournalof
Physics,July1963,Volume31,Issue7,pp.53647.ExplorestheconceptualchangeunderlyingOhm's
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KennethL.Caneva,"Ohm,GeorgSimon."(http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Georg_Simon_Ohm.aspx#
1)CompleteDictionaryofScientificBiography.2008
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