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  1. Glossary
  2. /Physics
  3. /Resistivity

What is Resistivity?

In short

Resistivity is a property of a material that tells you how strongly it resists current, whatever the shape of the wire. It is measured in ohm metres (Ω m\Omega\,\text{m}Ωm).

In simple words

Resistance depends on the shape of a wire. Resistivity does not. It is defined by ρ=RAl\rho = \dfrac{RA}{l}ρ=lRA​. A good conductor, such as copper, has a very small resistivity of about 10−8 Ω m10^{-8}\ \Omega\,\text{m}10−8 Ωm. An insulator has a very large one. Resistivity changes with temperature, which is why the alloys used in resistance wires, such as nichrome, are chosen to change very little.

Example

A wire with R=2.0 ΩR = 2.0\ \OmegaR=2.0 Ω, l=1.0 ml = 1.0\ \text{m}l=1.0 m and A=1.0×10−7 m2A = 1.0 \times 10^{-7}\ \text{m}^2A=1.0×10−7 m2 has ρ=2.0 Ω×1.0×10−7 m21.0 m=2.0×10−7 Ω m\rho = \dfrac{2.0\ \Omega \times 1.0 \times 10^{-7}\ \text{m}^2}{1.0\ \text{m}} = 2.0 \times 10^{-7}\ \Omega\,\text{m}ρ=1.0 m2.0 Ω×1.0×10−7 m2​=2.0×10−7 Ωm.

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Related terms

  • Electrical Resistance
  • Ohm's Law

← All glossary terms

Learn it in

  1. Electric CircuitsClass 11 to 12
  2. Current, Potential Difference and Ohm's LawClass 9 to 10
  3. Resistance and Combinations of ResistorsClass 9 to 10
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Practise

  1. A teacher gives a group 12 identical cells and a heating coil…Hard
  2. A tungsten filament lamp is marked 60 W, 230 V…
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  • A student studies the Wheatstone bridge in the figure…Advanced
  • A copper wire is made of two pieces joined end to end, as the figure shows…Hard
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    Quick questions

    1. In the figure, a battery of emf 12 V and internal resistance 1.0 Ω is joined to three…Advanced
    2. A bulb marked 100 W, 220 V and a bulb marked 60 W, 220 V are joined in series. Take the…Advanced
    3. Assertion (A): A student connects a variable resistor of resistance R across a cell of…Advanced

    More Physics terms

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    2. Acceleration
    3. Acceleration Due to Gravity (g)
    4. Adiabatic Process
    5. Amplitude
    6. Angle of Incidence
    All Physics terms →

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