What happens to current when a resistor breaks?
When a resistor breaks down, current typically flows through the burnt resistor without any resistance and thereby passes unchecked. Other components in the circuit may become damaged from the excess current flowing through.
Does voltage or current change through a resistor?
Voltage applied to a series circuit is equal to the sum of the individual voltage drops. The voltage drop across a resistor in a series circuit is directly proportional to the size of the resistor. If the circuit is broken at any point, no current will flow.
What happens when a high resistance resistor breaks?
It’s not something they feel they need to disclose because even a low end metal or alloy like pure nickel will outperform the tempco of carbon (it is just unsuitable for high resistances, as carbon is unsuitable for very low resistances). The most common failure mode I have seen in resistors is that they open up.
How does the voltage change over a circuit?
The voltage does indeed reduce gradually over the entire circuit, including the wires to and from the resistor. In a simple series circuit the voltage drop over each of the elements (ie wires and resistors) in the circuit is proportional to their individual resistance.
Can a voltage drop across a resistor determine the current?
On the other hand, the drop in voltage across the resistor along with the resistance should determine the current in the circuit, so if the voltage drop across the resistor is not directly linked to the voltage drop in the battery, there would be no way to find the current, which also seems wrong.
What happens when you run a circuit with no resistor?
Say you have a 9 volt battery, and you connect the two ends of the battery with a wire to form a circuit with no resistor. If you measure the potential difference between the two ends of the battery, the difference will obviously be 9 volts. This suggests that as you move along the wire, the potential slowly decreases incrementally.