Re*sist"ance (-ans), n. [F.
résistance, LL. resistentia, fr.
resistens, - entis, p. pr. See Resist.]
1. The act of resisting; opposition, passive or
active.
When King Demetrius saw that . . . no resistance
was made against him, he sent away all his forces.
1.
Macc. xi. 38.
2. (Physics) The quality of not
yielding to force or external pressure; that power of a body which
acts in opposition to the impulse or pressure of another, or which
prevents the effect of another power; as, the resistance of the
air to a body passing through it; the resistance of a target to
projectiles.
3. A means or method of resisting; that which
resists.
Unfold to us some warlike
resistance.
Shak.
4. (Elec.) A certain hindrance or
opposition to the passage of an electrical current or discharge
offered by conducting bodies. It bears an inverse relation to the
conductivity, -- good conductors having a small resistance, while poor
conductors or insulators have a very high resistance. The unit of
resistance is the ohm.
Resistance box (Elec.), a rheostat
consisting of a box or case containing a number of resistance coils of
standard values so arranged that they can be combined in various ways
to afford more or less resistance. -- Resistance
coil (Elec.), a coil of wire introduced into an
electric circuit to increase the resistance. -- Solid of
least resistance (Mech.), a solid of such a form
as to experience, in moving in a fluid, less resistance than any other
solid having the same base, height, and volume.
Re*sist"ance (-ans), n. [F.
résistance, LL. resistentia, fr.
resistens, - entis, p. pr. See Resist.]
1. The act of resisting; opposition, passive or
active.
When King Demetrius saw that . . . no resistance
was made against him, he sent away all his forces.
1.
Macc. xi. 38.
2. (Physics) The quality of not
yielding to force or external pressure; that power of a body which
acts in opposition to the impulse or pressure of another, or which
prevents the effect of another power; as, the resistance of the
air to a body passing through it; the resistance of a target to
projectiles.
3. A means or method of resisting; that which
resists.
Unfold to us some warlike
resistance.
Shak.
4. (Elec.) A certain hindrance or
opposition to the passage of an electrical current or discharge
offered by conducting bodies. It bears an inverse relation to the
conductivity, -- good conductors having a small resistance, while poor
conductors or insulators have a very high resistance. The unit of
resistance is the ohm.
Resistance box (Elec.), a rheostat
consisting of a box or case containing a number of resistance coils of
standard values so arranged that they can be combined in various ways
to afford more or less resistance. -- Resistance
coil (Elec.), a coil of wire introduced into an
electric circuit to increase the resistance. -- Solid of
least resistance (Mech.), a solid of such a form
as to experience, in moving in a fluid, less resistance than any other
solid having the same base, height, and volume.
