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Resistance in two identical wires of different densities

Physics Asked by Jdeep on October 5, 2021

Here is a question >

Two wires A and B of same material and mass have their lengths in the ratio $1:2$ .On connecting them to the same source , the rate of heat dissipation in B is $5W$ . What will the rate of heat dissipation in $A$ ?

My theory of doing it :

  1. We know $R = frac{rho l}{a}$
  2. Both wires will have different densities. Resistivity ($rho$) is independent of density of the material.
  3. Therefore $Rpropto l$
  4. Find the ratio and get the answer to be $10W$

The book’s way of doing it:

  1. $Rpropto frac{l}{a}$
  2. Let the density be denoted by $beta$. Multiplying Numerator and denominator by $lbeta$
  3. $R propto frac{l^2beta}{albeta}$ . Now $albeta$ is mass. If mass is constant , then
  4. $Rpropto l^2$
  5. By taking ratio , we get answer to be $25W$

I dont know if my calculation/theory is correct but in step 3 (book’s way) , Why was the density factor not taken into consideration? The step 3 should have been $R propto l^2 beta$ . Clearly the length would have been squared but the density would also be halfed so both the book and me should end up getting the same answer $10W$.

Was my method correct and is $10W$ the correct answer?

2 Answers

The way you have done it, you calculate the power dissipated for a wire of different length but same cross sectional area. The question asks for two wires of same material and same mass. If the length is doubled, then cross section would change as well. Basically its taking the same material and re-moulding it into a different shape, and seeing how the resistivity changes.

Correct answer by Danny Kong on October 5, 2021

The longer wire will have a larger surface area to dissipate energy to the surrounding environment.

The thicker wire will have its section area increased in the same ratio, and therefore its electrical resistance will also reduce in the same ratio.

However, nowhere in the question does mention electrical heating - the heat source could be a hot plate, for example.

This question is very poorly defined and cannot be answered without more information - but it would seem to be a matter of the shape of the cross section (not all wires are cylindrical) and the surface area available to transfer heat into an environment whose temperature and properties are also not given. Good luck with that one!

Answered by N.G. near on October 5, 2021

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