Donald wrote:
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Now what actually goes on within the body of the resistor is quite another
matter, but we can remark that the energy given up by the charge carriers
in going through the resistor is *potential* energy, as evidenced by the
fact that there's a potential drop measured by a voltmeter connected
across the resistor. All of this is, I think, the expected understanding
the student should grasp in a freshman course in physics. So the student
is not justified in saying that the electrons "come out of the resistor
slower than they went in". When students are asked to defend such an
answer, one often hears: "But doesn't resistance "impede" motion, and
therefore slow things up?"
Does anyone else see a semantic parallel here in the student's use of the
word "resistance "with our discussion of the meaning of the word
"charging"? And many textbooks speak of "current flow" when no one would
.. . .
-- Donald
I don't think it is a misconception to speak of the effect of
resistance as impeding motion. That is why an E field is required
to maintain the motion/current; no field is required in a
superconducor.