Why does temperature effect the resistance of conductors?

The resistance of a conductor increases with temperature. This is because as the temperature increases the atomic lattice of the conductor has more energy so begins to vibrate more. This means it is more likely for any electrons travelling within the conductor to interact with atoms thus increasing its resistance. Temperature is one of the 4 factors that effect resistance, the other being the length of the wire, the cross sectional area of the wire and the material of which the wire is made up of.

PE

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A crane is attached to one end of a steel girder, and lifts that end into the air. When the cable attached to the end of the girder is at 20 degrees to the vertical, the tension is 6.5kN. Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of this force.


An unknown capacitor is charged to 6v, its maximum value, then discharged through a 1k ohm resistor. If the capacitor voltage is 3v, 0.3 seconds after starting to discharge, what is the capacitance of the unknown capacitor?


Using Newton's law of gravitation, derive a suitable formula for the escape velocity of an object at Earth's surface.


Describe how standing waves are formed and explain why nodes and antinodes are formed.