What do resistor colors mean

The resistor color code indicates the electronic value of a resistor. Manufacturers devised the universal electronic color code rating system in the early part of the twentieth century because the bands of color were much easier to read on a small resistor than tiny print, and were also cheaper to produce. Each color represents a different rating, and by reading the resistor color code bands from left to right a person can determine the precise value of any resistor.

Resistors are always rated in ohms and can have anywhere from two to five color bands. Three or four bands are the most common. In order to read the value of a resistor color code correctly, the resistor must be oriented so that the silver or gold color band is on the right.

This band gives the tolerance of the resistor. Tolerance refers to the range of variation between the true value of the resistor and its design specifications.

If there is no silver or gold band, the band closest to one of the leads will be considered the first one. In the example above, the third stripe is brown, indicating that a single zero should be added to the right of the first two digits. If you want to go deeper into the math, this third band is officially referred to as a multiplier.

The color of the band determines the power of 10 you need to multiply the first two resistor digits by. The fourth color band indicates the resistor's tolerance. Tolerance is the percentage of error in the resistor's resistance, or how much more or less you can expect a resistor's actual measured resistance to be from its stated resistance. Some projects require your measurements to be more precise than others, and for this reason the tolerance band is useful in identifying which resistor will give you a more accurate resistance reading.

The smaller the tolerance percentage is, the higher the precision in your measurements. Resistor Color Codes Resistors resist the flow of electrical current. The second stripe is violet, which means the next digit is a 7. The third stripe is brown. Since brown is 1, it means add one zero to the right of the first two digits.