Resistors: Poor or semi conductors?

Thread Starter

arthur92710

Joined Jun 25, 2007
307
Resistors: Poor or semi conductors?

I'm stumped, what is the best word to describe what a resistor is made of? :confused:
In my understanding a 'Poor Conductor' (Not a rail-road joke from my project) is an insulator. In the +Mega Ohm range. While a semi conductor would just not pass as much voltage as copper.

Simply, I know that the pink stuff in the walls is a poor conductor of heat and the stuff in my electronics are semi-conductors. Would it be weird to say 'computers are filled with poor conductors.'?

Wikipidia says
Semiconductor: "This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 10^3 to 10^−8 siemens per centimeter."
What?:confused:

I hope its not too tricky,

Confused :confused:
-Arthur
 

thatoneguy

Joined Feb 19, 2009
6,359
"Semiconductors" have a discontinuity to allow the holes and electrons to be influenced by outside signals. This is usually acheived by doping a base material that is typically an insulator, such as silicon. See the wikipedia article for a bit more information on the differences. This description is extremely vague (it's late)

Other conductors, even poor ones, do not have that property. e.g. wire, resistors, etc.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Both, actually. Early resistors used carbon, but in it's amorphous form. Most semiconductors depend heavily on crystalline structure, and carbon is technically a semiconductor (but the reality is isn't, though graphene shows promise).

Resistors also use wire that has high resistance.

If I had to pick one it would be a poor conductor.
 

Rbeckett

Joined Sep 3, 2010
208
Think of a resistor as a water hose with a kink in it. The water flows, just not as fast as the hose with no kink in it. Kinda simplified, but it works for me.
Bob
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
Would it be weird to say 'computers are filled with poor conductors.'?
Perhaps not weird, but why not just call them resistors?

Of course, you may not have defined resistor, but then you haven't defined conductor either. How can your reader know what a poor conductor is, if you haven't defined good conductor. If you have defined what a "good conductor" is, then define resistor, use the proper term, and move on.

John
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
If it glows red and smokes when I connect a power source to it, it is a resistor.

If the power source glows red and smokes when I connect it, it is a conductor.
 
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