Two wires have the same cross-sectional area. One is tungsten, which has a temperature coefficient of resistivity of 0.0045 °C-1. The other is carbon, for which α = -0.0005 °C-1. The resistivities of Wo and C at 20°C are 5.6E-8 and 3.5E-5 Wm respectively. The sum of the resistances of the two wires does not change with temperature. What is the ratio of the lengths of the tungsten and carbon wires? Ignore any changes in dimensions due to thermal expansion.

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Two wires have the same cross-sectional area. One is tungsten, which has a temperature coefficient of resistivity of 0.0045 °C-1. The other is carbon, for which α = -0.0005 °C-1. The resistivities of Wo and C at 20°C are 5.6E-8 and 3.5E-5 Wm respectively. The sum of the resistances of the two wires does not change with temperature. What is the ratio of the lengths of the tungsten and carbon wires? Ignore any changes in dimensions due to thermal expansion.

Expert Solution
Given data
  • The coefficient of resistivity of tungsten αt=0.0045 °C-1.
  • The coefficient of resistivity of carbon  αc=-0.0005 °C-1.
  • The resistivity of tungsten ρt=5.6×10-8 Ω·m.
  • The resistivity of carbon ρc=3.5×10-5 Ω·m.
Step 1

The expression for the ratio of resistances of the tungsten and carbon is given as,

RtRc=-αcαtWhere, Rt and Rc are the resistances of the tungsten and carbon wire.

Substitute the values in the above equation,

RtRc=--0.0005 °C-10.0045 °C-1RtRc=19

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