[quote=LuckyInOC]Why would they call it resistive heating if it was based low resistance?
“The mathematical equation that describes this relationship is: V = I/R where V is the potential difference measured across the resistance in units of volts; I is the current through the resistance in units of amperes and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm’s_law
Let’s change it a little bit:
R = I/V same thing right?
If V (volts) is constant 120 volts.
and I (current in amps) is increased.
Then R (resistance) is also increased.
Your typical resistive home heater is 1500w. At 120v , it is pulling 12.5 amps or 0.10427 ohms. Whereas, a 1000w heater at 120 volts is 8.3 amps or 0.0694 ohms. More heat, more resistance – Ohm’s law. A bit like flu and Briansd1.
[quote=Hatfield][quote=LuckyInOC][quote=sdduuuude]Very unlikely a heating element, but not because it is a short circuit. That’s what heating elements are – a short circuit.[/quote]
I disagree. A short circuit has O hms or almost 0 ohms resistance. A heating element has lots of resistance to produce heat. Opposite ends of the electrical resistance spectrum.
Lucky In OC[/quote]
If a heating element had lots of resistance, it wouldn’t generate lots of heat. The more current that flows, the more heat that can be generated. But current drops as resistance increases. Therefore a heating element must have relatively low (but nonzero) resistance. Ohm’s law.
The reason it’s not a heating element, as someone else pointed out, is that there are no insulators suspending the crazy wire thing. If you connected those two big nubs to juice, electricity would take the easiest path which would be that big metal frame. If this was a heating element it would be constructed in such a way that the electricity would be forced to flow through all that convoluted wirework. But it’s not, which is why I claim it isn’t.
My money is on a rack of some sort, or the frame for holding a filter element.
*passes object to JoAnn Worley*[/quote]
“RESISTIVE HEATING: The generation of heat by electric conductors carrying current. The degree of heating for a given current is proportional to the electrical resistance of the conductor. If the resistance is high, a large amount of heat is generated, and the material is used as a resistor rather than as a conductor. See also Electrical resistance.
O ohms across a circuit will cause a ‘dead short’ or unlimited current flow. As you put it: ‘the easiest path’. Of course: “The easiest path is that of least resistance”.
By the way, I am the one that pointed out there are no insulators…
*passes object to Betty White*[/quote]
Lookup Joule’s Law on heating.
Power dissipated by a resistor is the amount of energy used per unit time:
Hence, Q= V^2/R * t (IE Q is proportional to V^2/R). Lower R leads to larger heat dissipation)
Note also, do not confuse the load resistance your outlet is seeing (IE load resistance of your toaster/appliance) to the resistance of the heating element inside the load. While the heating element has a very low resistance, obviously, your household circuit where you stove/heater/toaster is plugged into is not seeing a load with no resistance, otherwise the effect would be identical to sticking a paper clip into both ends of an outlet (IE your circuit breaker would trip- please do not try at home)….Load resistance of your appliance is NOT small.
