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Ohm's law calculator

V, I, R, and power — enter two, get the rest, with a wattage warning when parts start cooking.

Solve for
ResistanceR = V / I250 Ω
Voltage5 V
Current20 mA
Power dissipatedP = V · I100 mW

How it works

One relationship, three arrangements: V = I · R. Voltage pushes, resistance resists, current is what results. Power is the part everyone forgets: P = V · I — and it's the number that decides whether your resistor survives.

Common questions

Which form of the law do I use?

They're all the same triangle: V = I·R, I = V/R, R = V/I. Pick the one whose unknown you need. This calculator does the picking — choose what to solve for and feed it the other two.

Why does the power number matter so much?

Because parts fail by wattage, not by being 'wrong'. A 1k resistor across 12 V is a perfectly legal resistance — dissipating 144 mW, fine for a ¼ W part, fatal for an 0402. Every resistance decision is secretly also a power decision.

Milliamps or amps?

This calculator takes milliamps because that's the realistic range for signal-level electronics (LEDs ~10 mA, GPIO ~20 mA max, logic ~µA-mA). For motors and heaters, think in amps — and stop using ¼ W resistors.

Design it in the editor — freeLive electrical checks, automatic BOM, KiCad export.