Electric current metal (ideal) resistor (or other ohmic device): where formula_6 is the current, measured in amperes; formula_26 is the potential difference, measured in volts; and formula_27 is the resistance, measured in ohms. For alternating currents, especially at higher frequencies, skin effect causes the current to spread unevenly across the conductor cross-section, with higher density near the surface, thus increasing the apparent resistance. The mobile charged particles within a conductor move constantly in random directions, like the particles of a gas. (More accurately, a Fermi gas.) To create a net flow of charge, the particles must also move together with an average
Negative resistance be defined, but the resistance is not constant; it varies with the voltage or current through the device. The resistance of such a nonlinear device can be defined in two ways, which are equal for ohmic resistances: Negative resistance, like positive resistance, is measured in ohms. Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance. It is measured in siemens (formerly "mho") which is the conductance of a resistor with a resistance of one ohm. Each type of resistance defined above has a corresponding conductance It can be seen that the conductance has the same sign as its corresponding resistance: a negative resistance