One of the first things you learn in electronics is how to identify a resistor’s value. Through-hole resistors have color codes, and that’s generally where beginners begin. But why are they marked ...

This resistor with bands of red, violet, yellow, and gold has a value of 270,000 ohms (270kΩ) with a tolerance of ±5%. \( \begin{eqnarray*}\text{R}_\text{t ...

Younger electronic engineers may see resistors with old-style color codes to display their values a little less than those from previous years, but if there’s a shibboleth among those who wield a ...