resistivity

[ree-zis-tiv-i-tee]

noun

1. the power or property of resistance.

2. Also called specific resistance. Electricity.,  the resistance between opposite faces of a one-centimeter cube of a given material; ratio of electric intensity to cross-sectional area; reciprocal of conductivity.

resistivity

/ ˌriːzɪsˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. Former name: specific resistance.  ρ. the electrical property of a material that determines the resistance of a piece of given dimensions. It is equal to RA/l , where R is the resistance, A the cross-sectional area, and l the length, and is the reciprocal of conductivity. It is measured in ohms

2. the power or capacity to resist; resistance

resistivity

1. A measure of the potential electrical resistance of a conductive material. It is determined experimentally using the equation ρ = RA/l, where R is the measured resistance of some length of the material, A is its cross-sectional area (which must be uniform), and l is its length. It is measured in ohm-meters.

Word History and Origins

Origin of resistivity¹

First recorded in 1880–85; resistive + -ity

Example Sentences

Experts this week are expected to conduct soil resistivity testing, looking at how the soil around the towers absorbs and reacts to the flow of electric current.

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Initial tests confirmed their theory that decoupled transport channels resulted in higher ion conductivity and lower resistivity compared to homogenous membranes made from the same materials.

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In 2021, she arranged for geographers and students from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., to use ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography and other technologies to peer under the earth at Jungfernhof.

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But electrical resistivity imaging of the beach and seafloor shows that both were ice-free to at least 65 feet.

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The groups used electrical resistivity tomography to look for any voids.

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