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Lecture

Resistance and Conductivity

In course

EE-100: Electrical engineering science & technology

Ce cours propose une introduction aux sciences et technologies de l'électricité en mettant l'accent sur les composants des circuits électriques. L'enseignement comprend à la fois une partie théorique avec un cours et des exercices, ainsi qu'une partie expé ...

Description

This lecture introduces a quantity that characterizes a material's resistance by conducting an experiment with wires of varying lengths and diameters, showing that resistance is proportional to length and inversely proportional to section. The instructor demonstrates this graphically and introduces the concept of resistivity, defining the formula for resistance and explaining the significance of resistivity and conductivity in materials. Practical applications and exercises are provided to reinforce the understanding of these concepts.

Instructors (4)

Olivier J.F. Martin received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in physics in 1989 and 1994, respectively, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. In 1989, he joined IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, where he investigated thermal and optical properties of semiconductor laser diodes. Between 1994 and 1997 he was a research staff member at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ). In 1997 he received a Lecturer fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). During the period 1996-1999, he spent a year and a half in the U.S.A., as invited scientist at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD). In 2001 he received a Professorship grant from the SNSF and became Professor of Nano-Optics at the ETHZ. In 2003, he was appointed Professor of Nanophotonics and Optical Signal Processing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL), where he is currently head of the Nanophotonics and Metrology Laboratory and Director of the Microengineering Section.

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