Editing Resistor (section)

{{Short description|Passive electronic component providing electrical resistance}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox electronic component
| name              = Resistor
| image             = Electronic-Axial-Lead-Resistors-Array.png
| caption           = An array of axial-lead resistors
| type              = [[Passivity (engineering)|Passive]]
| working_principle = [[Electrical resistance]]
| terminal_number   = 2 
| symbol            = [[File:Resistor symbol America.svg|50px]] [[File:Resistor symbol Europe.svg|50px]]
| symbol_caption    = [[ANSI]] and [[IEC]] symbols
}}

[[File:Carbon and ceramic resistors of different power ratings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Various resistor types of different shapes and sizes]]

A '''resistor''' is a [[passivity (engineering)|passive]] [[terminal (electronics)|two-terminal]] [[electronic component]] that implements [[electrical resistance]] as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to [[Voltage divider|divide voltages]], [[Biasing|bias]] active elements, and terminate [[transmission line]]s, among other uses. High-power resistors that can dissipate many [[watt]]s of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor controls, in power distribution systems, or as test loads for [[electric generator|generators]].
Fixed resistors have resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity, force, or chemical activity.

Resistors are common elements of [[electrical network]]s and [[electronic circuit]]s and are ubiquitous in [[Electronics|electronic equipment]].  Practical resistors as discrete components can be composed of various compounds and forms. Resistors are also implemented within [[integrated circuit]]s.

The electrical function of a resistor is specified by its resistance: common commercial resistors are manufactured over a range of more than nine [[orders of magnitude]]. The nominal value of the resistance falls within the [[Engineering tolerance#Electrical component tolerance|manufacturing tolerance]], indicated on the component.