What is a resistor used for?

Answer 1

A resistor limits the amount of electrical current that passes through the circuit.

Think of kinking a garden hose. The kink "resists" the flow of water.

Similarly, a resistor "resists" the current flow and thus lowers the voltage to the following parts of the circuit which that current has to flow through.

Another answer

Simple...To resist or control the current flow.

If a pure conductor (ie, wire) instead of a resistor is used, the path is said to be short circuited and, in theory - but not usually in practice - an infinite current would flow through it if the source was really able to deliver such a current.

But, if there is some resistance in its path, the current taken from the source will always be limited to the potential difference produced by the source (measured in volts) divided by the resistance of the path (measured in ohms).

I = E/R (Where I is current, E is volts and R is resistance)

Another use of a resistor is whenever you need to produce a voltage drop in a circuit. This drop can can then be utilized for some other purpose, noting the voltage will differ depending on the load. If the load varies in resistance, so will the voltage drop.

When no resistors are met by the current, the voltage which is actually the amount of work done in moving the charge will tend to zero. This means that the current flows without any resistance and is said to be a dead short to the source.

Answer 2

A Resistor Is Used To Limit The Current In A Circuit

Further Answer

A resistor is sometimes used to modify the natural resistance of a circuit -e.g. by adding a resistor in series, you can increase the natural resistance; by adding a resistor in parallel, you can decrease the natural resistance. Two or more resistors can be used to create a voltage divider -a method of obtaining a voltage lower than the supply voltage in a d.c. circuit.
Use of resistor is to produce a particular amount of resistance to the flow of current

Answer 3

Resistors are used for many things in an electronic circuit, including creating a voltage drop at some point; attenuating noise on a signal before it reaches the output stage; in combination with transistor devices, split a signal into 2 opposite phases; present a minimum load to a device to keep it working at its optimum point; to create an appropriate bias level for transistor device inputs; to control a timing circuit in conjunction with a capacitor; to create a tuned circuit in conjunction with an inductor, and/or a capacitor . . . . and the list goes on . . .

Answer 4

It controls the amount of current that flows. A dead short (wires without resistance) would cause too much current to flow and overheat the wires.

Answer 5

The job of the resistor is to control the amount of electricity that flows through the circuit.

Answer 6

That's to ensure that not too much current passes through the diode, which would burn it.

Answer 7

To limit the current