This week in physics we continued to learn about electricity. More specifically we learned about current and resistance. Current is measured in Amperes (amps). It is the flow of electricity, just like the flow of water. Current can only flow if the circuit is complete. Resistors are part of electrical circuits that resist the electrical current so that it can be used...just like how dams resist the flow of water. An example of this in real life is quite easy to find because these two components are found in every electrical appliance.
My picture is of a resistor. Funny looking? Well this resistor is used to control fan speed in air-conditioning systems in cars. The wires in the top of the picture are the paths that the current flows. In this particular circuit the resistance is constant. (the resistor is the big metal square). The way this system works is that as you turn the dial it allows current to flow from each of the wires above. If the dial is on 1 then only 1 path is allowed to flow through. If the dial is on 2 then only 2 paths are allowed to flow through, and so on. We had to replace this on our car because it was old and falling apart. So, as a fail safe, it only allowed the fan to run on one speed, max speed. Now that we replaced the resistor it works fine.
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