A resistor is a two-terminal electronic component that produces a voltage across its terminals

that is proportional to the electric current passing through it in accordance with Ohm's law:

V = IR

Resistors are elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are ubiquitous in most
electronic equipment. Practical resistors can be made of various compounds and films, as well as
resistance wire (wire made of a high-resistivity alloy, such as nickel/chrome).

The primary characteristics of a resistor are the resistance, the tolerance, maximum working
voltage and the power rating. Other characteristics include temperature coefficient, noise, and
inductance. Less well-known is critical resistance, the value below which power dissipation
limits the maximum permitted current flow, and above which the limit is applied voltage. Critical
resistance is determined by the design, materials and dimensions of the resistor.

Resistors can be integrated into hybrid and printed circuits, as well as integrated circuits. Size,
and position of leads (or terminals) are relevant to equipment designers; resistors must be
physically large enough not to overheat when dissipating their power.

The ohm (symbol: Ω) is the SI unit of electrical resistance, named after Georg Simon Ohm. Commonly
used multiples and submultiples in electrical and electronic usage are the milliohm (1x10 −3), kilohm
(1x103), and megohm (1x106).

The behavior of an ideal resistor is dictated by the relationship specified in Ohm's law:

Ohm's law states that the voltage (V) across a resistor is proportional to the current (I) through it
where the constant of proportionality is the resistance (R).

Equivalently, Ohm's law can be stated:

This formulation of Ohm's law states that, when a voltage (V) is maintained across a resistance
(R), a current (I) will flow through the resistance.

This formulation is often used in practice. For example, if V is 12 volts and R is 400 ohms, a
current of 12 / 400 = 0.03 amperes will flow through the resistance R.

Main article: Series and parallel circuits

Resistors in a parallel configuration each have the same potential difference (voltage). To find
their total equivalent resistance (Req):

The parallel property can be represented in equations by two vertical lines "||" (as in geometry) to
simplify equations. For two resistors,

The current through resistors in series stays the same, but the voltage across each resistor can be
different. The sum of the potential differences (voltage) is equal to the total voltage. To find their
total resistance:

A resistor network that is a combination of parallel and series can be broken up into smaller parts
that are either one or the other. For instance,
However, many resistor networks cannot be split up in this way. Consider a cube, each edge of
which has been replaced by a resistor. For example, determining the resistance between two
opposite vertices requires additional transforms, such as the Y-Δ transform, or else matrix
methods must be used for the general case. However, if all twelve resistors are equal, the corner-
to-corner resistance is 5⁄6 of any one of them.

The practical application to resistors is that a resistance of any non-standard value can be
obtained by connecting standard values in series or in parallel.

[edit] Power dissipation

The power dissipated by a resistor (or the equivalent resistance of a resistor network) is

calculated using the following:

All three equations are equivalent. The first is derived from Joule's first law. Ohm’s Law derives
the other two from that.

The total amount of heat energy released is the integral of the power over time:

If the average power dissipated is more than the resistor can safely dissipate, the resistor may
depart from its nominal resistance and may become damaged by overheating. Excessive power
dissipation may raise the temperature of the resistor to a point where it burns out, which could
cause a fire in adjacent components and materials. There are flameproof resistors that fail (open
circuit) before they overheat dangerously.

Note that the nominal power rating of a resistor is not the same as the power that it can safely
dissipate in practical use. Air circulation and proximity to a circuit board, ambient temperature,
and other factors can reduce acceptable dissipation significantly. Rated power dissipation may be
given for an ambient temperature of 25 °C in free air. Inside an equipment case at 60 °C, rated
dissipation will be significantly less; a resistor dissipating a bit less than the maximum figure
given by the manufacturer may still be outside the safe operating area and may prematurely fail.

[edit] Construction

A single in line (SIL) resistor package with 8 individual, 47 ohm resistors. One end of each
resistor is connected to a separate pin and the other ends are all connected together to the
remaining (common) pin - pin 1, at the end identified by the white dot.

[edit] Lead arrangements

Through-hole components typically have leads leaving the body axially. Others have leads
coming off their body radially instead of parallel to the resistor axis. Other components may be
SMT (surface mount technology) while high power resistors may have one of their leads
designed into the heat sink.

[edit] Carbon composition

Carbon composition resistors consist of a solid cylindrical resistive element with embedded wire
leads or metal end caps to which the lead wires are attached. The body of the resistor is protected
with paint or plastic. Early 20th-century carbon composition resistors had uninsulated bodies; the
lead wires were wrapped around the ends of the resistance element rod and soldered. The
completed resistor was painted for color coding of its value.

The resistive element is made from a mixture of finely ground (powdered) carbon and an
insulating material (usually ceramic). A resin holds the mixture together. The resistance is
determined by the ratio of the fill material (the powdered ceramic) to the carbon. Higher
concentrations of carbon, a weak conductor, result in lower resistance. Carbon composition
resistors were commonly used in the 1960s and earlier, but are not so popular for general use
now as other types have better specifications, such as tolerance, voltage dependence, and stress
(carbon composition resistors will change value when stressed with over-voltages). Moreover, if
internal moisture content (from exposure for some length of time to a humid environment) is
significant, soldering heat will create a non-reversible change in resistance value. These resistors,
however, if never subjected to overvoltage nor overheating were remarkably reliable considering
the components size [1]

They are still available, but comparatively quite costly. Values ranged from fractions of an ohm
to 22 megohms. Because of the high price, these resistors are no longer used in most
applications. However, carbon resistors are used in power supplies and welding controls[1].

[edit] Carbon film

A carbon film is deposited on an insulating substrate, and a helix cut in it to create a long, narrow
resistive path. Varying shapes, coupled with the resistivity of carbon, (ranging from 90 to
400 nΩm) can provide a variety of resistances.[2] Carbon film resistors feature a power rating
range of 0.125 W to 5 W at 70 °C. Resistances available range from 1 ohm to 10 megohm. The
carbon film resistor has an operating temperature range of -55 °C to 155 °C. It has 200 to 600
volts maximum working voltage range.[3]. Special carbon film resistors are used in applications
requiring high pulse stability[1].

[edit] Thick and thin film

Thick film resistors became popular during the 1970s, and most SMD (surface mount device)
resistors today are of this type. The principal difference between thin film and thick film resistors
is not the actual thickness of the film, but rather how the film is applied to the cylinder (axial
resistors) or the surface (SMD resistors).

Thin film resistors are made by sputtering (a method of vacuum deposition) the resistive material
onto an insulating substrate. The film is then etched in a similar manner to the old (subtractive)
process for making printed circuit boards; that is, the surface is coated with a photo-sensitive
material, then covered by a pattern film, irradiated with ultraviolet light, and then the exposed
photo-sensitive coating is developed, and underlying thin film is etched away.

Thick film resistors are manufactured using screen and stencil printing processes[1].

Because the time during which the sputtering is performed can be controlled, the thickness of the
thin film can be accurately controlled. The type of material is also usually different consisting of
one or more ceramic (cermet) conductors such as tantalum nitride (TaN), ruthenium dioxide
(RuO2), lead oxide (PbO), bismuth ruthenate (Bi2Ru2O7), nickel chromium (NiCr), and/or
bismuth iridate (Bi2Ir2O7).

The resistance of both thin and thick film resistors after manufacture is not highly accurate; they
are usually trimmed to an accurate value by abrasive or laser trimming. Thin film resistors are
usually specified with tolerances of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, or 1%, and with temperature coefficients of 5 to
25 ppm/K.

Thick film resistors may use the same conductive ceramics, but they are mixed with sintered
(powdered) glass and some kind of liquid so that the composite can be screen-printed. This
composite of glass and conductive ceramic (cermet) material is then fused (baked) in an oven at
about 850 °C.

Thick film resistors, when first manufactured, had tolerances of 5%, but standard tolerances have
improved to 2% or 1% in the last few decades. Temperature coefficients of thick film resistors
are high, typically ±200 or ±250 ppm/K; a 40 kelvin (70 °F) temperature change can change the
resistance by 1%.

Thin film resistors are usually far more expensive than thick film resistors. For example, SMD
thin film resistors, with 0.5% tolerances, and with 25 ppm/K temperature coefficients, when
bought in full size reel quantities, are about twice the cost of 1%, 250 ppm/K thick film resistors.

[edit] Metal film

A common type of axial resistor today is referred to as a metal-film resistor. Metal electrode
leadless face (MELF) resistors often use the same technology, but are a cylindrically shaped
resistor designed for surface mounting. Note that other types of resistors (e.g., carbon
composition) are also available in MELF packages.

Metal film resistors are usually coated with nickel chromium (NiCr), but might be coated with
any of the cermet materials listed above for thin film resistors. Unlike thin film resistors, the
material may be applied using different techniques than sputtering (though that is one such
technique). Also, unlike thin-film resistors, the resistance value is determined by cutting a helix
through the coating rather than by etching. (This is similar to the way carbon resistors are made.)
The result is a reasonable tolerance (0.5, 1, or 2%) and a temperature coefficient that is generally
between 50 and 100 ppm/K.[4]. Metal film resistors process good noise characteristics and low
non-linearity. Also beneficial are the components efficient tolerance, temperature coefficient and
stability[1].

[edit] Wirewound

Types of windings in wire resistors:

1 - common
2 - bifilar
3 - common on a thin former
4 - Ayrton-Perry
Wirewound resistors are commonly made by winding a metal wire, usually nichrome, around a
ceramic, plastic, or fiberglass core. The ends of the wire are soldered or welded to two caps or
rings, attached to the ends of the core. The assembly is protected with a layer of paint, molded
plastic, or an enamel coating baked at high temperature. Because of the very high surface
temperature these resistors can withstand temperatures of up to +450°C[1]. Wire leads in low
power wirewound resistors are usually between 0.6 and 0.8 mm in diameter and tinned for ease
of soldering. For higher power wirewound resistors, either a ceramic outer case or an aluminum
outer case on top of an insulating layer is used. The aluminum-cased types are designed to be
attached to a heat sink to dissipate the heat; the rated power is dependent on being used with a
suitable heat sink, e.g., a 50 W power rated resistor will overheat at a fraction of the power
dissipation if not used with a heat sink. Large wirewound resistors may be rated for 1,000 watts
or more.

Because wirewound resistors are coils they have more undesirable inductance than other types of
resistor, although winding the wire in sections with alternately reversed direction can minimize
inductance. Other techniques employ bifilar winding, or a flat thin former (to reduce cross-
section area of the coil). For most demanding circuits resistors with Ayrton-Perry winding are
used.

Applications of wirewound resistors are similar to those of composition resistors with the
exception of the high frequency. The high frequency of wirewound resistors is substantially
worse than that of a composition resistor[1]

[edit] Foil resistor

The primary resistance element of a foil resistor is a special alloy foil several micrometres thick.
Since their introduction in the 1960s, foil resistors have had the best precision and stability of
any resistor available. One of the important parameters influencing stability is the temperature
coefficient of resistance (TCR). The TCR of foil resistors is extremely low, and has been further
improved over the years. One range of ultra-precision foil resistors offers a TCR of 0.14 ppm/°C,
tolerance ±0.005%, long-term stability (1 year) 25 ppm, (3 year) 50 ppm (further improved 5-
fold by hermetic sealing), stability under load (2000 hours) 0.03%, thermal EMF 0.1 μV/°C,
noise -42 dB, voltage coefficient 0.1 ppm/V, inductance 0.08 μH, capacitance 0.5 pF.[5]

[edit] Ammeter shunts

An ammeter shunt is a special type of current-sensing resistor, having four terminals and a value
in milliohms or even micro-ohms. Current-measuring instruments, by themselves, can usually
accept only limited currents. To measure high currents, the current passes through the shunt,
where the voltage drop is measured and interpreted as current. A typical shunt consists of two
solid metal blocks, sometimes brass, mounted on to an insulating base. Between the blocks, and
soldered or brazed to them, are one or more strips of low temperature coefficient of resistance
(TCR) manganin alloy. Large bolts threaded into the blocks make the current connections, while
much-smaller screws provide voltage connections. Shunts are rated by full-scale current, and
often have a voltage drop of 50 mV at rated current. Such meters are adapted to the shunt full
current rating by using an appropriately marked dial face; no change need be made to the other
parts of the meter.

[edit] Grid resistor

In heavy-duty industrial high-current applications, a grid resistor is a large convection-cooled

lattice of stamped metal alloy strips connected in rows between two electrodes. Such industrial
grade resistors can be as large as a refrigerator; some designs can handle over 500 amperes of
current, with a range of resistances extending lower than 0.04 ohms. They are used in
applications such as dynamic braking and load banking for locomotives and trams, neutral
grounding for industrial AC distribution, control loads for cranes and heavy equipment, load
testing of generators and harmonic filtering for electric substations.[6][7][8]

The term grid resistor is sometimes used to describe a resistor of any type connected to the
control grid of a vacuum tube. This is not a resistor technology; it is an electronic circuit
topology.

[edit] Negative resistors

Main article: Negative resistance

A device exhibiting negative resistance over part of its characteristic curve can be made with
active circuit components.

[edit] Special varieties

 Metal oxide varistor

 Cermet
 Phenolic
 Tantalum
 Water resistor

[edit] Adjustable resistors

[edit] Tapped resistors

A resistor may have one or more fixed tapping points so that the resistance can be changed by
moving the connecting wires to different terminals. Wire-wound power resistors can have a
tapping point that can slide the resistance element, allowing any part of the resistance to be used.

Where continuous adjustment of the resistance value during operation of equipment is required,
the sliding resistance tap can be connected to a knob accessible to an operator. Such a device is
called a "rheostat" and has two terminals.
A frequent element of electronic devices is a three-terminal resistor with a continuously
adjustable tapping point controlled by rotation of a shaft or knob. These variable resistors are
known as a potentiometer when all three terminals are connected, since they act as a
continuously adjustable voltage divider. A common example is a volume control for a radio
receiver.[9]

Accurate, high-resolution panel-mounted pots have resistance elements typically wirewound on a

helical mandrel, although some include a conductive-plastic resistance coating over the wire to
improve resolution. These typically offer ten turns of their shafts to cover their full range. They
are usually set with dials that include a simple turns counter and a graduated dial. Electronic
analog computers used them in quantity for setting coefficients, and delayed-sweep oscilloscopes
of recent decades included one on their panels.

[edit] Strain gauges

Main article: Strain gauge

The strain gauge, invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, is a type of
resistor that changes value with applied strain. A single resistor may be used, or a pair (half
bridge), or four resistors connected in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. The strain resistor is
bonded with adhesive to an object that will be subjected to mechanical strain. With the strain
gauge and a filter, amplifier, and analog/digital converter, the strain on an object can be
measured.

[edit] Resistance decade boxes

A resistance decade box is a box containing resistors of many values and two (or four) terminals,
with a mechanical switch that allows a resistance of any value allowed by the box to be dialed.
Usually the resistance is accurate to high precision, ranging from laboratory/calibration grade
accurate to within 20 parts per million, to field grade at 1%. Inexpensive boxes with lesser
accuracy are also available. All types offer a convenient way of selecting and quickly changing a
resistance in laboratory, experimental and development work without having to stock and seek
individual resistors of the required value. The range of resistance provided, the maximum
resolution, and the accuracy characterize the box. For example, one box offers resistances from 0
to 24 megohms, maximum resolution 0.1 ohm, accuracy 0.1%.[10]

[edit] Special varieties

There are special types of resistor whose resistance changes with various quantities: the
resistance of thermistors varies greatly with temperature, whether external or due to dissipation,
so they can be used for temperature or current sensing; metal oxide varistors drop to a very low
resistance when a high voltage is applied, making them suitable for over-voltage protection; the
resistance of photoresistors varies with illumination; the resistance of a Quantum Tunnelling
Composite can vary by a factor of 1012 with mechanical pressure applied; and so on.
[edit] Measurement
The value of a resistor can be measured with an ohmmeter, which may be one function of a
multimeter. Usually, probes on the ends of test leads connect to the resistor.

Measuring low-value resistors, such as fractional-ohm resistors, with acceptable accuracy

requires four-terminal connections. One pair of terminals applies a known, calibrated current to
the resistor, while the other pair senses the voltage drop across the resistor. Some laboratory test
instruments have spring-loaded pairs of contacts, with neighboring contacts electrically isolated
from each other. Better digital multimeters have four terminals on their panels, generally used
with special test leads. These comprise four wires in all, and have special test clips with jaws
insulated from each other. One jaw provides the measuring current, while the other senses the
voltage drop. The resistance is then calculated using Ohm's Law.

[edit] Standards
[edit] Production resistors

Resistor characteristics are quantified and reported using various national standards. In the US,
MIL-STD-202[11] contains the relevant test methods to which other standards refer.

There are various standards specifying properties of resistors for use in equipment:

 BS 1852
 EIA-RS-279
 MIL-PRF-26
 MIL-PRF-39007 (Fixed Power, established reliability)
 MIL-PRF-55342 (Surface-mount thick and thin film)
 MIL-PRF-914
 MIL-R-11
 MIL-R-39017 (Fixed, General Purpose, Established Reliability)
 MIL-PRF-32159 (zero ohm jumpers)

There are other United States military procurement MIL-R- standards.

[edit] Resistance standards

The primary standard for resistance, the "mercury ohm" was initially defined in 1884 in as a
column of mercury 106mm long and 1 square millimeter in cross-section, at 0 degrees Celsius.
Difficulties in precisely measuring the physical constants to replicate this standard result in
variations of as much as 30 ppm. From 1900 the mercury ohm was replaced with a precision
machined plate of manganin[12]. Since 1990 the international resistance standard has been based
on the quantized Hall effect discovered by Klaus von Klitzing, for which he won the Nobel Prize
in Physics in 1985.[13]
Resistors of extremely high precision are manufactured for calibration and laboratory use. They
may have four terminals, using one pair to carry an operating current and the other pair to
measure the voltage drop; this eliminates errors caused by voltage drops across the lead
resistances, because no current flows through voltage sensing leads. It is important in small value
resistors (100–0.0001 Ohm) where lead resistance is significant or even comparable with respect
to resistance standard value.[14]

[edit] Resistor marking

Main article: Electronic color code

Most axial resistors use a pattern of colored stripes to indicate resistance. Surface-mount resistors
are marked numerically, if they are big enough to permit marking; more-recent small sizes are
impractical to mark. Cases are usually tan, brown, blue, or green, though other colors are
occasionally found such as dark red or dark gray.

Early 20th century resistors, essentially uninsulated, were dipped in paint to cover their entire
body for color coding. A second color of paint was applied to one end of the element, and a color
dot (or band) in the middle provided the third digit. The rule was "body, tip, dot", providing two
significant digits for value and the decimal multiplier, in that sequence. Default tolerance was
±20%. Closer-tolerance resistors had silver (±10%) or gold-colored (±5%) paint on the other end.

[edit] Four-band resistors

Four-band identification is the most commonly used color-coding scheme on resistors. It consists
of four colored bands that are painted around the body of the resistor. The first two bands encode
the first two significant digits of the resistance value, the third is a power-of-ten multiplier or
number-of-zeroes, and the fourth is the tolerance accuracy, or acceptable error, of the value. The
first three bands are equally spaced along the resistor; the spacing to the fourth band is wider.
Sometimes a fifth band identifies the thermal coefficient, but this must be distinguished from the
true 5-color system, with 3 significant digits.

For example, green-blue-yellow-red is 56×104 Ω = 560 kΩ ± 2%. An easier description can be as

followed: the first band, green, has a value of 5 and the second band, blue, has a value of 6, and
is counted as 56. The third band, yellow, has a value of 104, which adds four 0's to the end,
creating 560,000 Ω at ±2% tolerance accuracy. 560,000 Ω changes to 560 kΩ ±2% (as a kilo- is
103).

Each color corresponds to a certain digit, progressing from darker to lighter colors, as shown in
the chart below.

Color 1st band 2nd band 3rd band (multiplier) 4th band (tolerance) Temp. Coefficient
Black 0 0 ×100
Brown 1 1 ×101 ±1% (F) 100 ppm
2
Red 2 2 ×10 ±2% (G) 50 ppm
Orange 3 3 ×103 15 ppm
Yellow 4 4 ×104 25 ppm
Green 5 5 ×105 ±0.5% (D)
Blue 6 6 ×106 ±0.25% (C)
Violet 7 7 ×107 ±0.1% (B)
Gray 8 8 ×108 ±0.05% (A)
White 9 9 ×109
Gold ×10−1 ±5% (J)
Silver ×10−2 ±10% (K)
None ±20% (M)

There are many mnemonics for remembering these colors.

[edit] Preferred values

Main article: Preferred number

Early resistors were made in more or less arbitrary round numbers; a series might have 100, 125,
150, 200, 300, etc. Resistors as manufactured are subject to a certain percentage tolerance, and it
makes sense to manufacture values that correlate with the tolerance, so that the actual value of a
resistor overlaps slightly with its neighbors. Wider spacing leaves gaps; narrower spacing
increases manufacturing and inventory costs to provide resistors that are more or less
interchangeable.

A logical scheme is to produce resistors in a range of values which increase in a geometrical

progression, so that each value is greater than its predecessor by a fixed multiplier or percentage,
chosen to match the tolerance of the range. For example, for a tolerance of ±20% it makes sense
to have each resistor about 1.5 times its predecessor, covering a decade in 6 values. In practice
the factor used is 1.4678, giving values of 1.47, 2.15, 3.16, 4.64, 6.81, 10 for the 1-10 decade (a
decade is a range increasing by a factor of 10; 0.1-1 and 10-100 are other examples); these are
rounded in practice to 1.5, 2.2, 3.3, 4.7, 6.8, 10; followed, of course by 15, 22, 33, … and
preceded by … 0.47, 0.68, 1. This scheme has been adopted as the E6 range of the IEC 60063
preferred number series. There are also E12, E24, E48, E96 and E192 ranges for components of
ever tighter tolerance, with 12, 24, 96, and 192 different values within each decade. The actual
values used are in the IEC 60063 lists of preferred numbers.

A resistor of 100 ohms ±20% would be expected to have a value between 80 and 120 ohms; its
E6 neighbors are 68 (54-82) and 150 (120-180) ohms. A sensible spacing, E6 is used for ±20%
components; E12 for ±10%; E24 for ±5%; E48 for ±2%, E96 for ±1%; E192 for ±0.5% or better.
Resistors are manufactured in values from a few milliohms to about a gigaohm in IEC60063
ranges appropriate for their tolerance.

Earlier power wirewound resistors, such as brown vitreous-enameled types, however, were made
with a different system of preferred values, such as some of those mentioned in the first sentence
of this section.
[edit] 5-band axial resistors

5-band identification is used for higher precision (lower tolerance) resistors (1%, 0.5%, 0.25%,
0.1%), to specify a third significant digit. The first three bands represent the significant digits,
the fourth is the multiplier, and the fifth is the tolerance. Five-band resistors with a gold or silver
4th band are sometimes encountered, generally on older or specialized resistors. The 4th band is
the tolerance and the 5th the temperature coefficient.

[edit] SMD resistors

This image shows four surface-mount resistors (the component at the upper left is a capacitor)
including two zero-ohm resistors. Zero-ohm links are often used instead of wire links, so that
they can be inserted by a resistor-inserting machine. Of course, their resistance is finite, although
quite low. Zero is simply a brief description of their function.

Surface mounted resistors are printed with numerical values in a code related to that used on
axial resistors. Standard-tolerance surface-mount technology (SMT) resistors are marked with a
three-digit code, in which the first two digits are the first two significant digits of the value and
the third digit is the power of ten (the number of zeroes). For example:

334 = 33 × 10,000 ohms = 330 kilohms

222 = 22 × 100 ohms = 2.2 kilohms
473 = 47 × 1,000 ohms = 47 kilohms
105 = 10 × 100,000 ohms = 1.0 megohm

Resistances less than 100 ohms are written: 100, 220, 470. The final zero represents ten to the
power zero, which is 1. For example:

100 = 10 × 1 ohm = 10 ohms

220 = 22 × 1 ohm = 22 ohms

Sometimes these values are marked as 10 or 22 to prevent a mistake.

Resistances less than 10 ohms have 'R' to indicate the position of the decimal point (radix point).
For example:
4R7 = 4.7 ohms
0R22 = 0.22 ohms
0R01 = 0.01 ohms

Precision resistors are marked with a four-digit code, in which the first three digits are the
significant figures and the fourth is the power of ten. For example:

1001 = 100 × 10 ohms = 1.00 kilohm

4992 = 499 × 100 ohms = 49.9 kilohm
1000 = 100 × 1 ohm = 100 ohms

000 and 0000 sometimes appear as values on surface-mount zero-ohm links, since these have
(approximately) zero resistance.

More recent surface-mount resistors are too small, physically, to permit practical markings to be
applied.

[edit] Industrial type designation

Format: [two letters]<space>[resistance value (three digit)]<nospace>[tolerance

code(numerical - one digit)] [15]

Power Rating at 70 °C
Power
MIL-R-11 MIL-R-39008
Type No. rating
Style Style
(watts)
BB ⅛ RC05 RCR05
CB ¼ RC07 RCR07
EB ½ RC20 RCR20
GB 1 RC32 RCR32
HB 2 RC42 RCR42
GM 3 - -
HM 4 - -
Tolerance Code
Industrial
MIL
type Tolerance
Designation
designation
5 ±5% J
2 ±20% M
1 ±10% K
- ±2% G
- ±1% F
- ±0.5% D
- ±0.25% C
 - ±0.1% B

The operational temperature range distinguishes commercial grade, industrial grade and military
grade components.

 Commercial grade: 0 °C to 70 °C
 Industrial grade: −40 °C to 85 °C (sometimes −25 °C to 85 °C)
 Military grade: −55 °C to 125 °C (sometimes -65 °C to 275 °C)
 Standard Grade -5 °C to 60 °C

[edit] Electrical and thermal noise

In precision applications it is often necessary to minimize electronic noise. As dissipative
elements, even ideal resistors will naturally produce a fluctuating "noise" voltage across their
terminals. This Johnson–Nyquist noise is a fundamental noise source which depends only upon
the temperature and resistance of the resistor, and is predicted by the fluctuation–dissipation
theorem. For example, the gain in a simple (non-) inverting amplifier is set using a voltage
divider. Noise considerations dictate that the smallest practical resistance should be used, since
the Johnson–Nyquist noise voltage scales with resistance, and any resistor noise in the voltage
divider will be impressed upon the amplifier's output.

In addition, small voltage differentials may appear on the resistors due to thermoelectric effect if
their ends are not kept at the same temperature. The voltages appear in the junctions of the
resistor leads with the circuit board and with the resistor body. Common metal film resistors
show such an effect at a magnitude of about 20 µV/°C. Some carbon composition resistors can
go as high as 400 µV/°C, and specially constructed resistors can go as low as 0.05 µV/°C. In
applications where thermoelectric effects may become important, care has to be taken (for
example) to mount the resistors horizontally to avoid temperature gradients and to mind the air
flow over the board.[16]

Practical resistors frequently exhibit other, "non-fundamental", sources of noise, usually called
"excess noise." Excess noise results in a "Noise Index" for a type of resistor. Excess Noise is due
to current flow in the resistor and is specified as μV/V/decade - μV of noise per volt applied
across the resistor per decade of frequency. The μV/V/decade value is frequently given in dB so
that a resistor with a noise index of 0dB will exhibit 1 μV (rms) of excess noise for each volt
across the resistor in each frequency decade. Excess noise is an example of 1/f noise. Thick-film
and carbon composition resistors generate more noise than other types at low frequencies; wire-
wound and thin-film resistors, though much more expensive, are often utilized for their better
noise characteristics. Carbon composition resistors can exhibit a noise index of 0 dB while bulk
metal foil resistors may have a noise index of -40 dB, usually making the excess noise of metal
foil resistors insignificant.[17]

Thin film surface mount resistors typically have lower noise and better thermal stability than
thick film surface mount resistors. However, the design engineer must read the data sheets for
the family of devices to weigh the various device tradeoffs.
[edit] Failure modes
Like every part, resistors can fail in normal use. Thermal and mechanical stress, humidity, etc.,
can play a part. Carbon composition resistors and metal film resistors typically fail as open
circuits. Carbon-film resistors may decrease or increase in resistance.[18] Carbon film and
composition resistors can open if running close to their maximum dissipation. This is also
possible but less likely with metal film and wirewound resistors. If not enclosed, wirewound
resistors can corrode. The resistance of carbon composition resistors are prone to drift over time
and are easily damaged by excessive heat in soldering (the binder evaporates). Variable resistors
become electrically noisy as they wear.

All resistors can be destroyed, usually by going open-circuit, if subjected to excessive current
due to failure of other components or accident.

[edit] See also

Electronics portal

 Circuit design
 Electrical resistance
 Electrical impedance
 Iron-hydrogen resistor
 Memristor
 Photoresistor
 Resistivity
 Shot noise
 Thermistor
 Trimmer
 Varistor
 Dummy load
You are correct.
We've already discussed one classification of resistors.  That was the
fixed resistor.  The next
classification is the tapped resistor. This resistor is manufactured with a
fixed value of resistance from end to end
having either fixed taps placed at intervals on the resistor that will give
fixed resistances, or an adjustable tap that
can be secured on the resistor when the desired ohmic value has been
established. Below are examples of the
fixed-tap and adjustable-tap resistors and their schematic symbols
The last classification of resistors is the variable
resistor.  It can be either metallic or nonmetallic. It is
constructed to be continuously variable from zero to
its maximum resistance. Below are two cutaway
examples
of variable resistors and the schematic symbol for a
variable resistor.