I believe his name was Georg Simon Ohm and not Simon Ohm. I believe his middle name was Simon. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John N. Power" To: Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 4:02 PM Subject: Re: [EE]: Why isn't Ohm's Law written I=V/R? > > From: Rick Regan[SMTP:drrdr@CHARTER.NET] > > Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 10:13 AM > > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > > Subject: [EE]: Why isn't Ohm's Law written I=V/R? > > > Does anyone know why Ohm's law is writtem V=IR (E=IR) > > instead of I=V/R? Of course I know they're equivalent. > > I just wondered why - if I is the dependent variable and V > > and R are the independent variables - it's basic form > > isn't I=V/R. > > The law stated by Simon Ohm was that the voltage drop > across a resistance was linearly related to the current > through the device. At the time this was "discovered", > nonlinear circuit elements were unknown. How the law > is algebraically stated is irrelevant; both of the above > equations are equivalent and therefore they are both > "Ohm's Law". Which one is used depends on one's > personal history. > > Now that semiconductor junctions are commonplace, > it is necessary for engineers to admit that Ohm's Law > is not always correct. The cases for which it does hold > true are referred to as "Ohmic", as in "the voltage between > the collector and emitter of a transistor is the sum of the > junction potentials and the ohmic drops in the bonding > wires". > > John Power > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: > [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads