Effect of elongation on electric resistance of carbon–polymer systems [I]

Abstract Effects of elongation on the electric resistance of graphite–EVA(ethylene-acetate copolymer) systems were studied. It was found that a linear relation holds between the logarithm of electric resistance and elongation. We have made a simulation with tunneling junction-model. Namely, we have assumed that the system consists of many tunneling junctions which form series and parallel circuits through the system and that widths of tunneling potentials proportionally increase with elongation. The result of the simulation agrees with experiment: a linear relation holds between the logarithm of electric resistance and elongation. This implies that tunneling conduction plays an important role in carbon–polymer systems. However this result raises a new problem on the mechanism of switching which was thought to have been solved already.