Why Can You Have Ohms But No Continuity?
2. The Intriguing Case of “Open Circuits”
Now, the million-dollar question: How can you possibly have ohms but no continuity? Well, the magic lies in understanding what constitutes an “open circuit.” An open circuit means there’s a break in the path, preventing electricity from flowing. But even with a break, you can still measure resistance across that break under certain conditions.
Think of it this way: imagine two wires that are very close together but not actually touching. There’s a tiny air gap between them. Air is a pretty poor conductor of electricity (that’s why we use it to insulate wires!). However, your multimeter, when set to measure resistance, might still show a very, very high ohm reading across that gap. This is because your multimeter is sending a small test current, and even a tiny bit of current can leak across the gap, giving you a resistance reading.
Another scenario is when you have a component like a capacitor in the circuit. A capacitor stores electrical energy. When you initially test it with an ohmmeter, you might see a resistance reading that starts low and then gradually increases. This is because the capacitor is charging up. Once it’s fully charged, the ohmmeter will read “open” or “overload,” indicating infinite resistance, or no continuity. But for a brief moment, it showed resistance!
In essence, the ohmmeter is trying to “see” the path for current to flow. Even if that path is incomplete or highly resistive (like air), it can still register something. Continuity, however, demands a solid, unbroken connection. No connection, no continuity, regardless of any ghostly ohm readings your multimeter might be picking up.