Current and Power Distribution in Aluminum Wire · CAP 2009 #12
Physics · electromagnetism
Problem
A piece of aluminum wire shown on the drawing is connected to a circuit with a source of constant current. Choose the correct conclusion on the values of the current (I), the amount of heat (P) emitted per second by a unit of length, and the electric field strength (E) inside the segments of the wire:
(a) I₁ = I₂ = I₃ ; P₁ = P₂ = P₃ ; E₁ = E₂ = E₃.
(b) I₁ = I₃ = ½I₂ ; P₁ = P₃ = 1/16P₂ ; E₁ = E₂ = E₃.
(c) I₁ = I₂ = I₃ ; P₁ = P₃ = 1/16P₂ ; E₁ = E₃ = ½E₂.
(d) I₁ = I₃ = I₂ ; P₂ = ¼P₁ = ¼P₃ ; E₂ = E₁ = E₃.
(e) I₁ = I₂ = I₃ ; P₁ = P₃ = ¼P₂ ; E₁ = E₃ = ¼E₂.