This is probably a simple concept but I'm struggling a little bit understanding it. When power is dissipated through a resistor, how is potential actually lost? I understand energy is converted into heat and other forms, but isn't potential just defined as a function inversely proportional to distance and proportional to charge (i.e. q/r)? I'm sure I'm misinterpreting the different terms, though, because potential is at approximately the same level at all points on a conductor (assuming negligible resistance), so it can't simply be a function of distance.
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