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Article
Ohm's law
Article By:
Frenzel, Louis Retired, Department of Engineering Technology, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas.
Berry, Carlotta Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana.
Last reviewed:March 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.466200
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- Ohm's law, published January 2014:Download PDF
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The relationship stating that the magnitude of the electrical current in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the circuit's resistance. One of the simplest and most intuitive electrical laws, Ohm's law was postulated by its namesake, German physicist Georg Simon Ohm, in 1826. The law states the relationship between the three fundamental electrical quantities: current (I), voltage (E or V), and resistance (R). Ohm's law accordingly defines the behavior of most electrical and electronic circuits (Fig. 1). See also: Electric current; Electrical circuit; Electrical resistance and conductance; Electricity; Electronics
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