A piece of wire having resistance 'R' is cut into four equal partsa)ho...
Resistance of Each Part
When a piece of wire with resistance 'R' is cut into four equal parts, each part will have a resistance that is different from the original wire.
- Each part's resistance: Since the wire is cut into four equal lengths, the resistance of each part becomes R/4.
- Comparison: Therefore, each of the four pieces has a resistance that is one-fourth of the original resistance.
Resistance of the Combination in Parallel
If these four parts are placed in parallel, the total resistance of the combination can be calculated using the formula for resistors in parallel.
- Formula for resistance in parallel: For resistors R1, R2, R3, and R4, the total resistance (R_total) is given by:
1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + 1/R4.
- Applying to our case: Since each part has a resistance of R/4, we have:
1/R_total = 1/(R/4) + 1/(R/4) + 1/(R/4) + 1/(R/4) = 4/(R/4) = 16/R.
- Final calculation: Thus, R_total = R/16.
- Comparison: The total resistance of the four parts in parallel, R/16, is significantly less than the original resistance R.
In summary, cutting the wire into four equal parts reduces the resistance of each part to R/4, and placing all parts in parallel results in a total resistance of R/16, which is substantially lower than the original resistance.