?!
Surely a slightly thicker wire is preferable - I'm sure you're right in that it's only a small charge flowing to the mouse, but if the resistance of the wire is inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area, surely a slightly thicker wire will heat up less and therefore be less of a hazard?
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 10:28, 1 reply, 16 years ago)

But,
Will the thicker wire not present a greater resistance though?
(PenguinOfDeath is Scottish, and most likely angry, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 10:36, Reply)

No,
I know it can seem counter-intuitive, but as I said, the resistance is inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area, so as the wire gets thicker, the resistance goes down.

Think about it like a given volume of water flowing through a pipe - the same amount of water would meet less physical resistance flowing through a fatter pipe than through a narrower one. It's a similar situation with the flow of electrons.
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 10:44, Reply)

Damn it!
I'm losing my physics knowledge. I really should know these things.
(PenguinOfDeath is Scottish, and most likely angry, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 10:46, Reply)

:)
www.torrentreactor.net/torrents/899998/Physics-For-Dummies
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 10:48, Reply)