Nichrome (Copper) Wire. This element illustrates the resistant and conductive properties of wires. Place up to ten nichrome (copper) wires in the simulation window. With the Select tool, you can move and rotate nichrome wires, and wire them to other objects. You attach wires to the nichrome wire's two nodes, which are indicated by the yellow rectangles in Figures 1 and 2. The first two figures show thin nichrome wires, while Figure 3 displays a thick copper wire.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

By default, this element is a thin nichrome wire of length 181 cm, which gives it a resistance of 40 ohms. Both the kind of wire and wire length can be changed in the element's Properties Box. You can also change the length manually in either Run mode or Stop mode.

For kinds of wire, you have four choices: thin nichrome, thick nichrome, thin copper, and thick copper. Nichrome is much more resistant than copper, and thin wires have greater resistivity than thick wires. Changing wire kind also changes the element's appearance (Figures 1-3 above).

To change the length manually, click on the hotspot (wire loop) indicated in Figure 4. To increase length (and hence resistance), drag the hotspot upward (Figure 5). To decrease length, drag it downward. Length can have any value between 0 and 400 cm. (Note: The ohmmeter is used here to illustrate how the resistance changes when you move the hotspot. The ohmmeter is not actually available in the Electric & Magnetic Devices Simulator.)

Fig. 4

Fig. 5