3.1 THE RESISTOR
The physical basis for the two-terminal element, called resistor, was dealt in detail in Chap. 1. We revise briefly.
The source of e.m.f. in a circuit sets up charge distributions at the terminals of all the two-terminal elements connected in the circuit. This charge distribution at the terminals of a resistor sets up an electric field inside the conducting material in the resistor. The mobile electrons get accelerated by this electric field and move. But, their motion is impeded by frequent collisions with non-mobile atoms in the conducting substance. A steady situation in which the mobile electrons attain a constant average speed as a result of the aggregate effect of large number of collisions occur in the conducting material ...
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