- Ohmic Conductors: Obey Ohm’s Law; current is directly proportional to voltage. Resistance remains nearly constant under normal conditions.
- Non-Ohmic Conductors: Do not obey Ohm’s Law; current and voltage have a nonlinear relationship due to changing resistance.
- Examples of Ohmic Conductors: Resistors, metal wires at normal temperatures.
- Examples of Non-Ohmic Conductors: Filament lamps, diodes, transistors, and thyristors.
- V-I Graphs: Ohmic conductors have a linear V-I graph; Non-Ohmic conductors have a curved V-I graph.
- Key Difference: Ohmic conductors have predictable current-voltage behavior; Non-Ohmic conductors have variable current response.
- Importance: Understanding these differences helps in designing circuits, selecting components, and predicting device behavior under varying voltages.
Understanding the difference between ohmic and non-ohmic conductors is essential in physics and electrical engineering. It all lies on how voltage and current behave in a material.
Ohmic Vs. non-Ohmic Conductors
The difference between ohmic and non-ohmic conductors can be found by knowing the relationship between voltage and current. When the voltage is applied across a conductor, the electrons start moving from high potential to low potential point.
The flow of electrons causes the flow of electric current in the opposite direction of electrons flow. The magnitude of current flowing in the circuit depends on the applied voltage and the resistance of the circuit.
The current remains relatively constant for the particular magnitude of applied voltage if the resistance of the circuit remains unchanged. The difference between ohmic and non-ohmic conductors is that Ohmic conductors have a linear relationship between voltage and current. In contrast, non-Ohmic conductors do not have a linear relationship between voltage and current.
The conductor, whether ohmic or nonohmic, can be verified with Ohm’s law. Ohm’s law states the relationship between voltage, current and resistance.
According to Ohm’s Law
I α V
I = V/ R  ——–(1)
Where,
V = Applied Voltage
IÂ = Current
R = Resistance of the circuit
Equation(1) can be plotted in a graphical form below.
Definition of Ohmic Conductor
The conductors that follow the above-given voltage and current relationship( I=V/R) are called the Ohmic conductors. In other words, the conductors that obey the Ohm’s law are called the Ohmic conductor.
Examples of Ohmic Conductors
An example of an Ohmic conductor is the resistor. The current flowing through the resistor is directly proportional to the applied voltage and voltage across the resistor, and the current flowing through it has a linear relationship.
The resistance of the conductor depends on the temperature, and the resistance increases with an increase in temperature according to the temperature coefficient of the resistance. If the current flowing through the resistance increases above its current carrying capacity, the resistance gets increased because of the rise of temperature. The increased heat can cause the resistance to become non-Ohmic.
V-I Graph for Ohmic ConductorÂ
The slope of the straight line is 1/R. The slope remains constant if the resistance value does not change in an electrical circuit. The slope of the line in the positive and negative quadrant is constant. A low resistance component has a more slope line, and a higher resistance device has a steeper line on the Ohmic conductor graph.
Definition of non-Ohmic Conductor
Conductors in which the current does not increase proportionally with voltage are called non-Ohmic conductors. In other words, these are conductors that do not obey Ohm’s Law.
Examples of non-ohmic Conductors
A conductor is non-Ohmic if the current through it does not change proportionally with the applied voltage. Non-Ohmic conductors do not follow Ohm’s Law. Common examples include filament lamps and semiconductor devices such as diodes, transistors, and thyristors.
V-I Graph for non-ohmic Conductors
In the case of the diode, the current keeps increasing, but the voltage drop across the diode does not increase. That is why the diode is a non-Ohmic device. The characteristics of the diode are given below.
In the case of the filament lamp, if the voltage is increased, the current flowing through the lamp does not increase beyond a particular value. Therefore, the filament lamp is non-Ohmic. Voltage-current characteristics of the incandescent lamp are given below.
The bulb resistance has a positive temperature coefficient. The resistance of the bulb increases with an increase in the temperature. The filament resistance changes with an increase in the current due to temperature increase. The filament resistance does not remain constant with an increase of current. Therefore, the incandescent/filament lamp does not obey Ohm’s law, and a filament lamp is non-ohmic.
Summary Table: Ohmic vs. Non-Ohmic Conductors
| Feature | Ohmic Conductors | Non-Ohmic Conductors |
| Definition | Obey Ohm’s Law; current proportional to voltage. Resistance remains nearly constant. | Do not obey Ohm’s Law; current and voltage have a nonlinear relationship due to changing resistance. |
| Examples | Resistors, metal wires at normal temperatures | Filament lamps, diodes, transistors |
| V-I Graph | Linear | Curved |
| Key Insight | Current is predictable and proportional to voltage | Current varies nonlinearly with voltage |
| Importance | Useful for designing circuits with predictable behavior | Essential for selecting components in variable-resistance devices |
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