The resistivity of a material is the physical property which determines the aptitude of this material to be opposed to the passage of the electrical current. The resistivity is the ohmic resistance of a cylinder of unit section and length.

with:
R= resistance [ohm]
= resistivity [ohm.m]

The usual units are the ohm for resistances and the meter for the lengths. The resistivity unit will be thus the ohm.m. The ohm.cm employed sometimes is value: 0,01 ohm.m. The conductibility is the reverse of the resistivity and is expressed in mho/m. In hydrogeology we generally employ the micromhos/cm or microsiemens/cm.

(ohm.m) = 10'000 / (microsiemens/cm) = 1000 / (millisiemens/m)

Resitivity of different formations

Strictly speaking the Ohm law is valid only for metal conductors. For gas and electrolytes it is only an approximation.