Resistance in long and thick wires
Analogy for junior science

We read earlier that long wires have high resistance while short wires have low resistance. Lets revisit the analogy of electrons being tiny trucks carrying energy (voltage) out from the battery and through a wire. Look at the animation below. Trucks that travel through a long wire will use some of the energy they carry to help them move along the wire.
If each green bag represents one volt how many volts does each electron have as it leaves the battery?
As electrons travel though this long wire how many volts do they use to just move through the wire?

Toasters use wire of high resistance. Electrons give up a great deal of energy as they move through this wire. Energy given off by the electrons turns to heat.
This is why toasters glow red hot when a current passes through the wire.

We can use our analogy to explain the production of heat. As the trucks travel through a narrow road they bump and collide with the sides of the road. They use a great deal of energy to get through this narrow, tough road. As they move along, constantly colliding, they create friction and the road heats up.

How many bags of energy(volts) do the electrons use in getting through the wire?

The elastic band provides the tension to automatically close the gate. Metal contacts that complete the circuit and cause the light to glow when the gate is shut The light indicating if the gate is open or closed An electromagnet that activates the lock The bolt that is lifted through a screw eye by the electromagnet The gate
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