why does flow of current through a conductor cause its heating?

Question

it is advised that while performing experiments related to potentiometer,circuit shud b closed only at d time of taking d reading as excessive current flow causes heating of d circuit.how exactly does current affect temperature of the circuit?

Answer 1

in above answers no one has mentioned that heat is a form of energy and loss of heat is energy lost from where electricity is getting energy

i can give u a small explination

u know current flows due to +ve charges

and these charges are produced from a source like battery

u also know that after some time these batteries become usless

cuz energy is consumed hence +ve charges are carrier of energy

which they dissipate to become stable
this energy is converted into heat energy

Answer 2

Electrical conductors (at least "normal" ones) have resistance so, per Ohm's law, heat generated or Power = i^2 x R. The biggest electricaly power hog in most house holds is the refrigerator (unless you have an electric water heater). This is not quite the same as "highest power consumption" because peak power consumption is different than the largest power consumer over a month's time. An electric range is probably the biggest single amp load over a reasonable time frame (seconds to minutes) when you turn on all burners and the oven. Instantaneous peak load (in terms of fractions of a Hertz) is more likely to come from some electric motor on initial start up (transient power surges which spike in less time than a normal circuit breaker or fuse will react).

Answer 3

Current flowing through any conductor is affected by the resistance of the conductor. Power is dissipated in a resistance in the form of heat. For a given resistance, more heat is generated as current flow increases.

A fuse works using this effect. As the current flow reaches the "rating" of the fuse, enough heat is generated to melt the internal link, opening the circuit.

So, your potentiometer (a variable resistance) can overheat if too much current flows through it. This can lead to it opening up just like a fuse, or getting hot enough to injure you or damage something.

Answer 4

Basically, since the free electrons are moving through the conductor at high speeds, when the current is flowing, there is a lot of transfer of energy, and a good part of it is lost as heat. Therefore, the heating of the circuit

Answer 5

The flow of charged electrons through a material generates heat because the electrons move through the proximity of ionized particles etc. The collisions and inter-particle forces generate vibrations in the particles of the medium; that vibrational energy is the source of the heat.

The amount of heat can actually be computed:

d/dt ( Uem + W) = - S integrated over the cross-sectional area under consideration.

where Uem is the electromagnetic energy stored in the fields, W is the mechanical energy (heat), and S is the Poynting Vector, defined as E x B normalized by 1/mu_o.

Answer 6

As the electrons drift through the conductor they lose their electric potential,thuz they lose energy in the form of heat.heat is also cuased by the resistance caused by the conductor.

Answer 7

This is true.

But only if there is resistance, otherwise it is negligible and heat is carried away and we do not see any effect, eg electric house hold wiring, proper size will not heat up, wrong size and it can burn down the whole house.

Resistance stops the electron in its tract kinetic ennergy is changed to heat and light depending on the aperatus, light bulb or hating coil or element.

Answer 8

it is the property of a metals that when current flows through them they offer some resistent towards them and in this process their molecules get heated up (in the case of light bulb)giving heat and light. hope you understood.

Answer 9

Due to resistance, in between flow of current and meterial used in wire.

Answer 10

heating is caused due to the resistance of the conductor