On Tue, 1 Jul 1997, Billy Zoom wrote:
> > In any event, when you run any current through a
> > wire, it will heat up. How much it heats up is a factor of how much current
> > you put through it. Your lighting switch carries all the current for the
>
> Actually, heat is the result of the voltage drop due to the resistance
> of the wire. There shouldn't be a voltage drop across the switch.
>
Really actually, the voltage drop is due to the resistance _times_
the current; the heat is due to the current squared times the resistance.
There should be no voltage drop across an ideal switch or ideal wire; in
reality both have some resistance, and therefore heat up when current
flows
Len Bugel
'51 TD
'57 MGA
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