Temperature Coefficient of Electrical Resistance
See also: Table of materials' resistivitiesThe temperature dependence of electrical resistance and thus of electronic devices (wires, resistors) has to be taken into account when constructing devices and circuits. The temperature dependence of conductors is to a great degree linear and can be described by the approximation below.
where
just corresponds to the specific resistance temperature coefficient at a specified reference value (normally T = 0 °C)
That of a semiconductor is however exponential:
where is defined as the cross sectional area and and are coefficients determining the shape of the function and the value of resistivity at a given temperature.
For both, is referred to as the resistance temperature coefficient.
This property is used in devices such as thermistors.
Read more about this topic: Temperature Coefficient
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