Direnç

Direnç is a Turkish noun meaning resistance or opposition, and the act of resisting. It is used to describe social, political, or military opposition as well as the physical property of impeding something, such as an electrical current. The term is a loanword from French résistance, entering Turkish through Ottoman Turkish and continuing into modern Turkish.

In science and engineering, direnç refers specifically to electrical resistance, the property of a material that opposes the flow of electric current. It is symbolized by R and measured in ohms (Ω). Ohm's law relates voltage (V), current (I), and resistance by V = IR. For a uniform conductor, R = ρL/A, where ρ is resistivity, L is length, and A is cross-sectional area. Materials with higher resistivity or longer length, or a smaller cross-section, have greater resistance. Temperature also affects resistance, typically causing resistance to rise in metallic conductors. Resistance is implemented in circuits using components called resistors to achieve specific electrical behaviors.

Beyond physics, direnç appears in social and political contexts to describe the stance or actions of groups or individuals opposing policies, regimes, or occupations. While related terms such as direniş are also used to denote resistance or resistance movements, direnç remains the general noun for the concept of opposition itself. In Turkish discourse, the word is common in academic, technical, and everyday language.