An in-depth discussion on Ohms Law

Electrical circuits are very essential in our everyday lives. Our entire lives will be very different if we will not be surrounded by circuits everywhere. From complicated integrated circuits to circuits which light a bulb in a house, every type of circuit plays a major role in our lives. We can not imagine our life without circuits and electricity. But most people don’t prefer to learn about the working of the circuits and some plain and simple equations like Ohms Law. This law mainly explains the relationship between voltage, electrical resistance, and electric current. However, by going a little deeper into the physics of electronics, you can learn about some core rules which has been working under most modern technology. Now let us understand in detail about the Ohms Law.

What is Ohms Law?

Ohms Law is the vital equation for understanding electrical circuits. But for understanding the Ohms Law first you need to have basic knowledge of voltage, current, and resistance. Ohms law equation mainly defines the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance for most conductors. Voltage refers to the electrical potential difference between two points and it allows electric charge to pass through a conducting loop.

Electrical potential is basically a type of potential energy and it acts as the electrical potential energy per unit charge. The volt (V) is the S.I. Unit for voltage and 1 V=1C, which means 1 volt=1 joule of energy per unit charge. It is the Electromotive Force.

Electrical current is an electrical charge flowing through certain points in a circuit and it has ampere as its S.I. Unit. Electric current comes as both alternating current and direct current. Alternating current circuits mainly provide power to households, unlike direct current offices, etc, since it safely travels over long distances.

Before making any practical application of ohms law, the final concept that you will need to understand is resistance. Resistance is mainly the measurement of the opposition to current flow in a circuit. Ohm is the S.I. Unit for resistance. 1 ohm=1V/A.

Ohms Law Equation:-

The Ohms Law equation is invented by German Physicist George Ohm and it defined the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. The Ohms law equation is: V=IR where V is the voltage, I is the current, and R is the resistance.

You can rearrange the equation for producing a formula to calculate the current based on voltage and resistance or resistance based on current and voltage. But if you don’t want to rearrange the equation, then you can simply look at Ohms’s triangle. The major points that Ohms law equation highlights are:

• Voltage is directly proportional to electric current.
• The current is inversely proportional to the resistance.

Why is Ohms Law so important?

This particular law is very essential for describing electrical circuits, since it relates voltage to the current along with the resistance value, diminishing the relationship between the two. This is why one can use it for controlling the amount of current in a circuit. One can do that by adding resistors for decreasing the current flow and again removing them for increasing the current flow.

Ohms Law is also used for describing electrical power. Since P=IV, so you can use it to check whether your circuit provides enough energy for running a 60-watt appliance or not.

Thus we can say that Ohms Law is one such guiding principle that provides the base for electrical circuits. Till now we have discussed some of the basics of Ohms Law, what it is and why is it so important. But now we will discuss some of the interesting facts about Ohms Law.

1) This Law is basically very simple

We all have studied the Ohms formula during our school or college days. It is basically very simple but some may find it complicated and highly challenging.

The common definition of that law states that voltage is directly proportional to electric current. This means that the higher is the voltage higher is the current flow. The law also states that resistance is inversely proportional to electric current. This means that the higher is the resistance, the lower is the current flow.

2) Some application of this Law 

According to this Law, voltage is directly proportional to the electric current flowing through a conductor, provided temperature and all physical conditions remain constant. Now we will look at some of the common applications of Ohms Law in our day to day life:

• We often control the speed of the fans in our houses by shifting the regulator. The current flowing through the fan can be easily regulated by controlling the resistance through the regulator. We can calculate the resistance, and power flowing through a particular input with the help of Ohms Law. It is useful.
• The high resistance metal coil in an electric heater allows current to pass across them for providing the heat needed. With the help of this law, one can determine how much power he needs to give to the heater.
• Electric kettles are consist of resistors and these resistors forbid the amount of current flowing through them for providing the required amount of heat. One can easily determine the size of resistors with the help of Ohms Law.

3) Initially this Law did not receive a good response 

Yes that its true, Ohms’s Law did not receive a positive response immediately and it takes many years to become successful. Initially, many scholars did not support the  Law’s equation and thus shows no enthusiasm in further performing the experiment which will prove the accuracy of the formula. Gradually the law become successful and it was recognized as the best description of electricity physics.

4) Ohms Law Calculator is a very useful tool

Ohms Law calculator is a very useful tool and by using it one can easily achieve the value between voltage, current, resistance, and power. Ohms Law calculator is highly used by all and it is now available online, which is a piece of great news for all physics enthusiasts as well as physics students and engineers.