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Take a Stance, The Resist Stance

Resistors - the most ubiquitous of electronic components. They are

a critical piece in just about every circuit. And they play a major role
in our favorite equation, Ohm’s Law.

In this, our pièce de résistance, we’ll cover:

What is a resistor?!

Resistor units

Resistor circuit symbol(s)

Resistors in series and parallel

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Different variations of resistors

Color coding decoding

Surface mount resistor decoding

Example resistor applications

Consider reading…

Some of the concepts in this tutorial build on previous electronics

knowledge. Before jumping into this tutorial, consider reading (at
least skimming) these first:

What is Electricity?

Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm’s Law

What is a Circuit

Series vs. Parallel Circuits

How to Use A Multimeter - Specifically check out the measuring

resistance section.

Metric Prefixes

Resistor Basics

Resistors are electronic components which have a specific, never-

changing electrical resistance. The resistor’s resistance limits the
flow of electrons through a circuit.

They are passive components, meaning they only consume power

(and can’t generate it). Resistors are usually added to circuits
where they complement active components like op-amps,

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microcontrollers, and other integrated circuits. Commonly resistors

are used to limit current, divide voltages, and pull-up I/O lines.

Resistor units

The electrical resistance of a resistor is measured in ohms. The

symbol for an ohm is the greek capital-omega: Ω. The (somewhat
roundabout) definition of 1Ω is the resistance between two points
where 1 volt (1V) of applied potential energy will push 1 ampere
(1A) of current.

As SI units go, larger or smaller values of ohms can be matched

with a prefix like kilo-, mega-, or giga-, to make large values easier
to read. It’s very common to see resistors in the kilohm (kΩ) and
megaohm (MΩ) range (much less common to see miliohm (mΩ)
resistors). For example, a 4,700Ω resistor is equivalent to a 4.7kΩ
resistor, and a 5,600,000Ω resistor can be written as 5,600kΩ or
(more commonly as) 5.6MΩ.

Schematic symbol

All resistors have two terminals, one connection on each end of

the resistor. When modeled on a schematic, a resistor will show up
as one of these two symbols:

Two common resistor schematic symbols. R1 is an American-style

1kΩ resistor, and R2 is an international-style 47kΩ resistor.

The terminals of the resistor are each of the lines extending from
the squiggle (or rectangle). Those are what connect to the rest of

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the circuit.

The resistor circuit symbols are usually enhanced with both a

resistance value and a name. The value, displayed in ohms, is
obviously critical for both evaluating and actually constructing the
circuit. The name of the resistor is usually an R preceding a
number. Each resistor in a circuit should have a unique
name/number. For example, here’s a few resistors in action on a
555 timer circuit:

In this circuit, resistors play a key role in setting the frequency of

the 555 timer’s output. Another resistor (R3) limits the current
through an LED.

Types of Resistors

Resistors come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They might be

through-hole or surface-mount. They might be a standard, static
resistor, a pack of resistors, or a special variable resistor.

Termination and mounting

Resistors will come in one of two termination-types: through-hole or

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surface-mount. These types of resistors are usually abbreviated as

either PTH (plated through-hole) or SMD/SMT (surface-mount
technology or device).

Through-hole resistors come with long, pliable leads which can be

stuck into a breadboard or hand-soldered into a prototyping board
or printed circuit board (PCB). These resistors are usually more
useful in breadboarding, prototyping, or in any case where you’d
rather not solder tiny, little 0.6mm-long SMD resistors. The long
leads usually require trimming, and these resistors are bound to
take up much more space than their surface-mount counterparts.

The most common through-hole resistors come in an axial

package. The size of an axial resistor is relative to its power rating.
A common ½W resistor measures about 9.2mm across, while a
smaller ¼W resistor is about 6.3mm long.

A half-watt (½W) resistor (above) sized up to a quarter-watt (¼W).

Surface-mount resistors are usually tiny black rectangles,

terminated on either side with even smaller, shiny, silver, conductive
edges. These resistors are intended to sit on top of PCBs, where
they’re soldered onto mating landing pads. Because these resistors
are so small, they’re usually set into place by a robot, and sent
through an oven where solder melts and holds them in place.

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A tiny 0603 330Ω resistor hovering over shiny George

Washington’s nose on top of a U.S. quarter.

SMD resistors come in standardized sizes; usually either 0805

(0.8mm long by 0.5mm wide), 0603, or 0402. They’re great for
mass circuit-board-production, or in designs where space is a
precious commodity. They take a steady, precise hand to manually
solder, though!

Resistor composition

Resistors can be constructed out of a variety of materials. Most

common, modern resistors are made out of either a carbon, metal,
or metal-oxide film. In these resistors, a thin film of conductive
(though still resistive) material is wrapped in a helix around and
covered by an insulating material. Most of the standard, no-frills,
through-hole resistors will come in a carbon-film or metal-film
composition.

Peek inside the guts of a few carbon-film resistors. Resistance

values from top to bottom: 27Ω, 330Ω and a 3.3MΩ. Inside the

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resistor, a carbon film is wrapped around an insulator. More wraps

means a higher resistance. Pretty neat!

Other through-hole resistors might be wirewound or made of

super-thin metallic foil. These resistors are usually more expensive,
higher-end components specifically chosen for their unique
characteristics like a higher power-rating, or maximum temperature
range.

Surface-mount resistors are usually either thick or thin-film

variety. Thick-film is usually cheaper but less precise than thin. In
both resistor types, a small film of resistive metal alloy is
sandwiched between a ceramic base and glass/epoxy coating, and
then connected to the terminating conductive edges.

Special resistor packages

There are a variety of other, special-purpose resistors out there.

Resistors may come in pre-wired packs of five-or-so resistor arrays.
Resistors in these arrays may share a common pin, or be set up as
voltage dividers.

An array of five 330Ω resistors, all tied together at one end.

Resistors don’t have to be static either. Variable resistors, known as

rheostats, are resistors which can be adjusted between a specific
range of values. Similar to the rheostat is the potentiometer. Pots
connect two resistors internally, in series, and adjust a center tap
between them creating an adjustable voltage divider. These

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variable resistors are often used for inputs, like volume knobs,
which need to be adjustable.

A smattering of potentiometers. From top-left, clockwise: a standard

10k trimpot, 2-axis joystick, softpot, slide pot, classic right-angle,
and a breadboard friendly 10k trimpot.

Decoding Resistor Markings

Though they may not display their value outright, most resistors are
marked to show what their resistance is. PTH resistors use a color-
coding system (which really adds some flair to circuits), and SMD
resistors have their own value-marking system.

Decoding the color bands

Through-hole, axial resistors usually use the color-band system to

display their value. Most of these resistors will have four bands of
color circling the resistor.

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The first two bands indicate the two most-significant digits of the
resistor’s value. The third band is a weight value, which multiplies
the two significant digits by a power of ten.

The final band indicates the tolerance of the resistor. The tolerance
explains how much more or less the actual resistance of the
resistor can be compared to what its nominal value is. No resistor is
made to perfection, and different manufacturing processes will
result in better or worse tolerances. For example, a 1kΩ resistor
with 5% tolerance could actually be anywhere between 0.95kΩ and
1.05kΩ.

How do you tell which band is first and last? The last, tolerance
band is often clearly separated from the value bands, and usually
it’ll either be silver or gold.

Here’s a table of each of the colors and which value, multiplier or

tolerance they represent:

Color Digit value Multiplier Multiplied Out Tolerance

Black 0 100 1

Brown 1 101 10

Red 2 102 100

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Orange 3 103 1,000

Yellow 4 104 10000

Green 5 105 100,000

Blue 6 106 1,000,000

Violet 7 107 10,000,000

Gray 8 108 100,000,000

White 9 109 1,000,000,000

Gold ±5%

Silver ±10%

Here’s an example of a 4.7kΩ resistor with four color bands:

When decoding the resistor color bands, consult a resistor color

code table like the one above. For the first two bands, find that
color’s corresponding digit value. The 4.7kΩ resistor has color
bands of yellow and violet to begin - which have digit values of 4
and 7 (47). The third band of the 4.7kΩ is red, which indicates that
the 47 should be multiplied by 102 (or 100). 47 times 100 is 4,700!

If you’re trying to commit the color band code to memory, a

mnemonic device might help. There are a handful of (sometimes
unsavory) mnemonics out there, to help remember the resistor
color code. A good one, which spells out the difference between

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black and brown is:

"Big brown rabbits often yield great big vocal groans when
gingerly snapped."

Or, if you remember “ROY G. BIV”, subtract the indigo (poor indigo,
no one remembers indigo), and add black and brown to the front
and gray and white to the back of the classic rainbow color-order.

Color Code Calculator

If you’d rather skip the math (we won’t judge :), and just use a
handy calculator, give this a try!

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4

Value 1 (MSV) Value 2 Weight Tolerance

Resistance: 1,000 Ω ±5%

Decoding surface-mount markings

SMD resistors, like those in 0603 or 0805 packages, have their own
way of displaying their value. There are a few common marking
methods you’ll see on these resistors. They’ll usually have three to
four characters – numbers or letters – printed on top of the case.

If the three characters you’re seeing are all numbers, you’re

probably looking at an E24 marked resistor. These markings
actually share some similarity with the color-band system used on
the PTH resistors. The first two numbers represent the first two
most-significant digits of the value, the last number represents a
magnitude.

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In the above example picture, resistors are marked 104, 105, 205,
751, and 754. The resistor marked with 104 should be 100kΩ
(10x104), 105 would be 1MΩ (10x105), and 205 is 2MΩ (20x105).
751 is 750Ω (75x101), and 754 is 750kΩ (75x104).

Another common coding system is E96, and it’s the most cryptic of
the bunch. E96 resistors will be marked with three characters – two
numbers at the beginning and a letter at the end. The two numbers
tell you the first three digits of the value, by corresponding to one of
the not-so-obvious values on this lookup table.

Code Value Code Value Code Value Code Value Code Value Code Value
01 100 17 147 33 215 49 316 65 464 81 681
02 102 18 150 34 221 50 324 66 475 82 698
03 105 19 154 35 226 51 332 67 487 83 715
04 107 20 158 36 232 52 340 68 499 84 732
05 110 21 162 37 237 53 348 69 511 85 750
06 113 22 165 38 243 54 357 70 523 86 768
07 115 23 169 39 249 55 365 71 536 87 787
08 118 24 174 40 255 56 374 72 549 88 806
09 121 25 178 41 261 57 383 73 562 89 825
10 124 26 182 42 267 58 392 74 576 90 845
11 127 27 187 43 274 59 402 75 590 91 866
12 130 28 191 44 280 60 412 76 604 92 887
13 133 29 196 45 287 61 422 77 619 93 909
14 137 30 200 46 294 62 432 78 634 94 931
15 140 31 205 47 301 63 442 79 649 95 953
16 143 32 210 48 309 64 453 80 665 96 976
The letter at the end represents a multiplier, matching up to

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something on this table:

Letter Multiplier Letter Multiplier Letter Multiplier

Z 0.001 A 1 D 1000
Y or R 0.01 B or H 10 E 10000
X or S 0.1 C 100 F 100000

So a 01C resistor is our good friend, 10kΩ (100x100), 01B is 1kΩ

(100x10), and 01D is 100kΩ. Those are easy, other codes may not
be. 85A from the picture above is 750Ω (750x1) and 30C is actually
20kΩ.

Power Rating

The power rating of a resistor is one of the more hidden values.

Nevertheless it can be important, and it’s a topic that’ll come up
when selecting a resistor type.

Power is the rate at which energy is transformed into something

else. It’s calculated by multiplying the voltage difference across two
points by the current running between them, and is measured in
units of a watt (W). Light bulbs, for example, power electricity into
light. But a resistor can only turn electrical energy running through it
into heat. Heat isn’t usually a nice playmate with electronics; too
much heat leads to smoke, sparks, and fire!

Every resistor has a specific maximum power rating. In order to

keep the resistor from heating up too much, it’s important to make
sure the power across a resistor is kept under it’s maximum rating.
The power rating of a resistor is measured in watts, and it’s usually
somewhere between ⅛W (0.125W) and 1W. Resistors with power
ratings of more than 1W are usually referred to as power resistors,

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and are used specifically for their power dissipating abilities.

Finding a resistor’s power rating

A resistor’s power rating can usually be deduced by observing its

package size. Standard through-hole resistors usually come with
¼W or ½W ratings. More special purpose, power resistors might
actually list their power rating on the resistor.

These power resistors can handle a lot more power before they
blow. From top-right to bottom-left there are examples of 25W, 5W
and 3W resistors, with values of 2Ω, 3Ω 0.1Ω and 22kΩ. Smaller
power-resistors are often used to sense current.

The power ratings of surface mount resistors can usually be judged

by their size as well. Both 0402 and 0603-size resistors are usually
rated for 1/16W, and 0805’s can take 1/10W.

Measuring power across a resistor

Power is usually calculated by multiplying voltage and current (P =

IV). But, by applying Ohm’s law, we can also use the resistance

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value in calculating power. If we know the current running through a

resistor, we can calculate the power as:

Or, if we know the voltage across a resistor, the power can be

calculated as:

Series and Parallel Resistors

Resistors are paired together all the time in electronics, usually in

either a series or parallel circuit. When resistors are combined in
series or parallel, they create a total resistance, which can be
calculated using one of two equations. Knowing how resistor values
combine comes in handy if you need to create a specific resistor
value.

Series resistors

When connected in series resistor values simply add up.

N resistors in series. The total resistance is the sum of all series

resistors.

So, for example, if you just have to have a 12.33kΩ resistor, seek
out some of the more common resistor values of 12kΩ and 330Ω,
and butt them up together in series.

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Parallel resistors

Finding the resistance of resistors in parallel isn’t quite so easy. The

total resistance of N resistors in parallel is the inverse of the sum of
all inverse resistances. This equation might make more sense than
that last sentence:

N resistors in parallel. To find the total resistance, invert each

resistance value, add them up, and then invert that.

(The inverse of resistance is actually called conductance, so put

more succinctly: the conductance of parallel resistors is the sum of
each of their conductances).

As a special case of this equation: if you have just two resistors in

parallel, their total resistance can be calculated with this slightly-
less-inverted equation:

As an even more special case of that equation, if you have two

parallel resistors of equal value the total resistance is half of their
value. For example, if two 10kΩ resistors are in parallel, their total
resistance is 5kΩ.

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A shorthand way of saying two resistors are in parallel is by using

the parallel operator: ||. For example, if R1 is in parallel with R2, the
conceptual equation could be written as R1||R2. Much cleaner, and
hides all those nasty fractions!

Resistor networks

As a special introduction to calculating total resistances, electronics

teachers just love to subject their students to finding that of crazy,
convoluted resistor networks.

A tame resistor network question might be something like: “what’s

the resistance from terminals A to B in this circuit?”

To solve such a problem, start at the back-end of the circuit and

simplify towards the two terminals. In this case R7, R8 and R9 are
all in series and can be added together. Those three resistors are in
parallel with R6, so those four resistors could be turned into one
with a resistance of R6||(R7+R8+R9). Making our circuit:

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Now the four right-most resistors can be simplified even further. R4,
R5 and our conglomeration of R6 - R9 are all in series and can be
added. Then those series resistors are all in parallel with R3.

And that’s just three series resistors between the A and B terminals.
Add ‘em on up! So the total resistance of that circuit is: R1+R2+R3||
(R4+R5+R6||(R7+R8+R9)).

Example Applications

Resistors exist in just about every electronic circuit ever. Here are a
few examples of circuits, which heavily depend on our resistor
friends.

LED Current Limiting

Resistors are key in making sure LEDs don’t blow up when power
is applied. By connecting a resistor in series with an LED, current
flowing through the two components can be limited to a safe value.

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When sizing out a current-limiting resistor, look for two

characteristic values of the LED: the typical forward voltage, and
the maximum forward current. The typical forward voltage is the
voltage which is required to make an LED light up, and it varies
(usually somewhere between 1.7V and 3.4V) depending upon the
color of the LED. The maximum forward current is usually around
20mA for basic LEDs; continuous current through the LED should
always be equal to or less than that current rating.

Once you’ve gotten ahold of those two values, you can size up a
current-limiting resistor with this equation:

VS is the source voltage – usually a battery or power supply

voltage. VF and IF are the LED’s forward voltage and the desired
current that runs through it.

For example, assume you have a 9V battery to power an LED. If

your LED is red, it might have a forward voltage around 1.8V. If you
want to limit the current to 10mA, use a series resistor of about
720Ω.

Voltage Dividers

A voltage divider is a resistor circuit which turns a large voltage into

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a smaller one. Using just two resistors in series, an output voltage

can be created that’s a fraction of the input voltage.

Here’s the voltage divider circuit:

Two resistors, R1 and R2, are connected in series and a voltage

source (Vin) is connected across them. The voltage from Vout to
GND can be calculated as:

For example, if R1 was 1.7kΩ and R2 was 3.3kΩ, a 5V input voltage

could be turned into 3.3V at the Vout terminal.

Voltage dividers are very handy for reading resistive sensors, like
photocells, flex sensors, and force-sensitive resistors. One half of
the voltage divider is the sensor, and the part is a static resistor.
The output voltage between the two components is connected to an
analog-to-digital converter on a microcontroller (MCU) to read the
sensor’s value.

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Here a resistor R1 and a photocell create a voltage divider to create

a variable voltage output.

Pull-up Resistors

A pull-up resistor is used when you need to bias a microcontroller’s

input pin to a known state. One end of the resistor is connected to
the MCU’s pin, and the other end is connected to a high voltage
(usually 5V or 3.3V).

Without a pull-up resistor, inputs on the MCU could be left floating.

There’s no guarantee that a floating pin is either high (5V) or low
(0V).

Pull-up resistors are often used when interfacing with a button or

switch input. The pull-up resistor can bias the input-pin when the
switch is open. And it will protect the circuit from a short when the
switch is closed.

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In the circuit above, when the switch is open the MCU’s input pin is
connected through the resistor to 5V. When the switch closes, the
input pin is connected directly to GND.

The value of a pull-up resistor doesn’t usually need to be anything

specific. But it should be high enough that not too much power is
lost if 5V or so is applied across it. Usually values around 10kΩ
work well.

Resources and Going Further

Now that you’re a budding expert on all things resistor, how ‘bout
exploring some more fundamental electronics concepts! Resistors
certainly aren’t the only basic component we use in electronics,
there’s also:

Capacitors

Diodes

Transistors

Integrated Circuits (ICs)

Or maybe you’d like to further explore resistor applications?

Voltage Dividers

Pull-up Resistors

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