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wetona
Aug 25, 2004, 07:48 AM
Electrical current through wires is similar to water flowing through pipes. Using this analogy make a statement about how electrical current flow is related to the resistance of the wire it flows through.


PLEASE HELP!?

urmod4u
Oct 16, 2004, 03:37 PM
The property of water that is comparable to the resistance of a wire, is the viscosity of the water.
Note that the viscosity is a property of the water (the current) and that the resistance is a property of the material the wire is made of (the conductor). So the analogy is not quite right.
But it is correcter than the pipe's diameter - which rather compares to the wire's diameter - both having their influence on the resistance.
High viscosity (electrical: resistance) will cause low current for a given pressure (electrical: voltage).
Hot water has lower viscosity than cold water, it flows easier (=faster, more current). That is, BTW, why the pitch of the sound of flowing water from a hot water tap changes when the hot water arrives.