If there is a short between coils, the resistance between them will be __________.

• A. Infinite
• B. Zero
• C. Finite but high
• D. Low but nonzero

Answer: (B)

When two coil windings are shorted, there is a direct conducting path that bypasses the coil windings. That creates a very low-impedance connection between the two points, so the resistance seen between them is essentially zero. In an ideal case, the wires and connections are perfect conductors, so the measured resistance would be zero. In reality there’s always a tiny contact resistance, so it’s a very small, but effectively negligible, finite value.

Infinite resistance would imply there’s no path at all, which isn’t the case with a short. Finite but high or low but nonzero resistances imply substantial resistance remains, which contradicts the presence of a short circuit.