Experiment 4

Resistance and Resistivity

A slide wire Wheatstone bridge is used to determine the resistance of coils of wire made
from different materials. If the lengths and the diameters of the coils of wire are also known, then
the resistivity of the material from which the wire is made can be determined.

Theory

Bridge circuits are designed to allow the determination of the value of an unknown circuit
element such as a resistor, capacitor, or an inductor. The circuit diagram for a typical bridge is
shown in Figure 1.

The bridge elements are connected

between junctions AC, BC, AD, and BD. V
represents either an AC or DC voltage
source and G represents a null detecting
device such as a galvanometer, a voltmeter,
or an oscilloscope.

Generally, one or more of the circuit

elements in the bridge can be varied until the
potential difference between junctions C and
D (VCD) is zero. When this situation exists,
the bridge is said to be balanced or is
"nulled." The following relationships then
hold for the voltages in the main branches:
Figure 1. A typical bridge circuit.

V AC  V AD , (1)
and
V BC  V BD .
(2)

When (1) is divided by (2) and rearranged, the voltage across any branch can be found in terms of
the voltages across the remaining three. For example, the voltage between Junctions A and D is

V 
V AD  V BD  AC . (3)
 V AD 

The Wheatstone bridge is shown schematically in Figure 2. The coils of wire whose
resistance is to be determined is connected between junctions A and D, and a known value of

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resistance is connected between B and D. A potentiometer or a long wire is connected between A
and B with a tap at point C. The position of the tap can be altered, thereby, changing the
resistances, RAC and RBC, on either side of point C. These changes then vary the voltage VAC and
VBC.

Figure 2. Schematic of the Wheatstone bridge.

When the bridge is in the null condition (galvanometer reads zero), equation (3) holds.
Then a current flows from A to D to B (IADB, and another current flows from A to C to B (IACB).
Knowing that the voltage across a resistor is IR (Ohm's Law), equation (3) can be expressed as


 RAC 
R AD  RBD  . (4)
R 
 BC 

The value of RAC is proportional to the length of wire LAC, and the value of RBC is proportional to
(LAB – LAC). In this experiment we are using a 100 cm long wire as a potentiometer so that LAB
=100. If RAD is the unknown resistance, and RBD is the known resistance box value.
Equation (4) can now be written as


 LAC 
R x  Rbox  . (5)
 100 L 
 AC 

This is the working equation for the Wheatstone bridge.

The resistivity of the coil of wire with resistance Rx can now be determined. For a wire
with a uniform cross-sectional area, the resistance is

 x
Rx  .
A

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When this expression is rearranged,
AR x
 , (6)
x

where  is the resistivity, lx is the length of the coil of wire, and A is its cross-sectional area.
When the cross-sectional area is expressed in terms of its diameter, d, the expression for its
resistivity becomes

 d 2 Rx
 . (7)
4 x

The diameters of the unknown wires are given by the “gauge no.”: G# 22=6.439 x 10-4 m; G#
26=4.049 x 10-4 m; G# 28=3.211 x 10-4 m.

Apparatus

o wire slide apparatus o coil of copper wire

o DC power supply o coil of German silver wire
o galvanometer o coil of Nichrome wire
o standard resistance box, ±0.2% o 5 leads

Procedure

1) Connect the Wheatstone bridge circuit with the standard resistance box between
junctions B and D and the coil of copper wire of unknown resistance between
junctions A and D. Record the gauge number of the wire coil and its length.

2) Turn on the DC power supply and adjust the voltage or current knob to some
convenient value.

3) Set the tap at junction C to the 50 cm.

4) Depress KEY 1, 5 VOLTS button on the galvanometer. Pull and replace the plugs on
the resistance box until the galvanometer needle is zeroed or nearly zeroed. Now
depress KEY 2, 0.1 VOLTS button and again pull and replace the plugs until the
needle is zeroed or nearly zeroed. Finally, depress the most sensitive button (KEY 3-
GALV) and again attempt to zero the reading by adjusting the resistance box.
CAUTION: If the most sensitive button (KEY 3-GALV) is depressed first, too much
current may flow through the galvanometer causing it to bum out.

5) Hold the most sensitive button (KEY 3-GALV) depressed and slide the tap until the
galvanometer is zeroed. If uncertainties are, to be calculated, then find the range of
values of L that will zero the galvanometer. Record these values as Lmin and Lmax.

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 6) Repeat steps (1) through (5) using the coil of German (nickel) silver wire. Repeat
again with the Nichrome (Chromel) wire.

Analysis

Use (5) and (7) to determine the resistivity of copper, German silver, and Nichrome.

If uncertainties are to be calculated, then the value of LAC in (5) is expressed as

( Lmin  Lmax )
L ,
2
and its uncertainty is
( Lmax  Lmin )
L  .
2

An estimate of the reliability of the resistivity values can be found using the “fractional
uncertainty” method. Assuming that the length and cross-section of the wire are known to great
accuracy, the uncertainty in the resistivity is due to the fractional uncertainties in Rx. The
uncertainty therefore is given by

 R L  (100  L) 
    box   ,
 Rbox L (100  L) 
(8)

here the uncertainties in the diameter and length of the wire on the coil are neglected. In (8), L =
L   (100  L) and Rbox / Rbox  0.002. (Note that the standard resistance box has a
tolerance of ±0.2%. If a different resistance box is used, then the fractional uncertainty of the
resistance will be different.)

In a results table, report the experimental values of the resistivity for the three materials,
their uncertainties (if calculated), the book values of the resistivities, and percentage errors when
appropriate. Accepted resistivity values are: copper=1.72 x 10-8ohm-m; nickel silver=33 x 10-8
ohm-m; copper= 100 x 10-8ohm-m.

Error Analysis

Describe the factor(s) that you felt caused the greatest amount of error in your
determination of the resistivity. Be specific and indicate how each error would have affected your
results.

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Conclusion and Questions; some of these should be answered in the theory section, some in
the error analysis, some in the conclusion statement.

1. Was the experiment a success? Did you measure the accepted resistivity value to the
level of uncertainty of your measurement?

2. On what microscopic process does the resistivity depend?

3. Does the resistivity of a conductor increase, decrease, or remain the same when the
temperature of the conductor increases? Explain. What about a semiconductor?
Why?

4. Show in your theory section that you can derive the basic equations of this experiment:
(4), (7) and (8). Make sure to define your variables, use schematics, and explain your
steps. Do not merely copy the theory section in the handout, instead summarize it in
your own style.

5. Explain the problems associated with getting a reliable value from the resistance box.

6. Explain why L= (100-L) in the uncertainty formula.

7. The last two terms inside the brackets in (8) give a measure of the fractional
uncertainty associated with the slide wire potentiometer used in this experiment.
Suppose that the uncertainty in the wire reading, L, is ±0.05 cm. If LAC is 50.00 cm,
what is the total fractional uncertainty of the last two terms in the uncertainty
expression? If LAC were 10.00, then what is the total fractional uncertainty of the last
two terms in the uncertainty expression? Does this provide a clue as to why the slide
wire reading, L, should be as close as possible to the 50 cm position?

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