, representing the total area of the surface. Unlike currents, current density is a vector quantity, which means it must have the same direction as the moving charges if they are positive or the opposite direction if they are negative: charge carriers with electric fields (vector. ) that are in the direction of vector: current density in terms of drift velocity ( ) is expressed as: represents the carrier charge density. 26-3 resistance and resistivity: when there is a difference of current in different ends of conductors, the conductor is being acted on by electrical resistance, expressed as: is the ohm ( ) of a wire made of a specific material: resistivity is variable with temperature and can be expressed as: represents a reference temperature. represents the resistivity at represents the temperature coefficient of resistivity for the specific material. ) applied to the material. independent of the magnitude of any electric field ( of the metal. is.