Electric resistivity

Electric resistivity (symbol: ρ) is the inverse of electric conductivity, and so is formally electic field strength divided by electric current density. It is often described by reference to the electric resistance of a metal wire: the resistivity is the resistance of a wire multiplied by its cross-sectional area divided by its length. Electric resistivity is measured in ohm metres (Ω m) or, more usually, in the CGS unit of ohm centimetres (Ω cm): 1 Ω m = 100 Ω cm. It may be either a scalar quantity (for isotropic materials, the majority of cases) or a rank-2 tensor (for anisotropic materials, such as graphite or crystalline gallium).

Notes and references

Further reading

• Rossiter, Paul L. The electrical resistivity of metals and alloys; Cambridge Solid State Science Series; University Press: Cambridge, 1991. ISBN 0521408725.
• Dyos, Gordon T.; Farrell, Trevor Electrical resistivity handbook; Peter Peregrinus, 1992.
• CRC handbook of electrical resistivities of binary metallic alloys; Schröder, Klaus, Ed.; CRC Press, 1983. ISBN 0849335205.