Sorry for the pun. OK, I'm not. ;)
I'm a mechanical engineer, and as a mechanical
engineer these little worlds of electrons and nuetrons
and protons all seem like teeny tiny lincoln (or maybe
Imperial) logs to me. Its all imaginary.
Dick B is definitely correct, though, in citing the
equation Power=Current(^2) * Resistance. Think of it
like KE (Kinetic Energy)=velocity(^2) * mass. Any
increase in the first term will increase the output
(energy, either as heat, light, sound, etc) by an
amount squared; increasing the second term will also
increase the output, but only in a linear
relationship.
Now, where this gets tricky is how it all relates to
V=IR. If your resistance goes up, the current would
have to decrease by an equal amount to maintain the
constant voltage. But, if this were the case, then an
increase in resistance would actually decrease Power,
and heat would go down. So what's going on here?
You EE's out there, correct me if I'm wrong, but V IS
NOT CONSTANT. Yes, you have a 12 volt potential
across the battery, at 60 megaohms resistance (or
whatever the voltmeter is), but at the, say, 8 ohms or
resistance typically found in the circuit, the voltage
will be less than 12. Now, if the resistance goes
up, to say 10, the voltage will also go up, I
(current) will remain constant, and P (power) will
increase.
Incidentally, V=IR is just the electrical equivalent
of F=MA. ;) You electrical guys just copied our equation.
=====
--Mike Pittinaro
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
--Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
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