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- Jun 21, 2012
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The answer to Question (1) is incorrect. Explanations follow.
The answer to Question (2) is incorrect. Explanations follow.
(1) Except for the special case of superconductors, which actually do exhibit zero resistance, it is impossible to create a short-circuit with zero resistance because all wires (electrical conductors) that are not superconductors have a finite resistance that is greater than zero ohms. Therefore, the minimum resistance necessary to constitute a short-circuit must also be some value greater than zero ohms.
(2) There is no such thing as infinity. Infinity is not a number; it is just a very large quantity that can be approached but never reached: a convenient fiction, useful to mathematicians and confusing and misinterpreted by everyone else. However, your answer is closer to the truth than your answer to the first question. Very large resistances, megohms and larger, can and do constitute a short-circuit, depending on the circuit under consideration. In fact, there is no maximum resistance that cannot constitute a short-circuit. It all depends on the circuit under consideration.
From these two explanations I hope you can see that short-circuits can have any resistance, ranging from almost zero ohms to greater resistances than the largest resistance you can measure with your digital multimeter.
Remember my definition: short-circuits must be unintentional and low-resistance. Unintentional is not always obvious, although with careful circuit design it should be! Low-resistance depends on, and is relative to, the particular circuit under consideration.
The answer to Question (2) is incorrect. Explanations follow.
(1) Except for the special case of superconductors, which actually do exhibit zero resistance, it is impossible to create a short-circuit with zero resistance because all wires (electrical conductors) that are not superconductors have a finite resistance that is greater than zero ohms. Therefore, the minimum resistance necessary to constitute a short-circuit must also be some value greater than zero ohms.
(2) There is no such thing as infinity. Infinity is not a number; it is just a very large quantity that can be approached but never reached: a convenient fiction, useful to mathematicians and confusing and misinterpreted by everyone else. However, your answer is closer to the truth than your answer to the first question. Very large resistances, megohms and larger, can and do constitute a short-circuit, depending on the circuit under consideration. In fact, there is no maximum resistance that cannot constitute a short-circuit. It all depends on the circuit under consideration.
From these two explanations I hope you can see that short-circuits can have any resistance, ranging from almost zero ohms to greater resistances than the largest resistance you can measure with your digital multimeter.
Remember my definition: short-circuits must be unintentional and low-resistance. Unintentional is not always obvious, although with careful circuit design it should be! Low-resistance depends on, and is relative to, the particular circuit under consideration.