wrote in message
oups.com...
sorry, it is obvious (after reading up on definitions of tolerance and
watts..total newbie here)

sometimes things that seem obvious are not always so, (maybe not in
electronics but definitely in other facets of life). in this case i
guess that adage doesn't apply. if only everything else were that
simple : )

I understand. Also, you have a perfect right to wonder whether any
"non-ideal" properties of a resistor are involved. For example, in
high-frequency circuits, the inductance of the resistor (which is normally
of no concern at all) might be different for a 1/4-watt than for a 1/2-watt
resistor, and I can imagine designing a circuit that performs differently
with one than with the other. Inductance is a "non-ideal" property of
resistors since a perfect resistor wouldn't have any.

Also, a more familiar example is electrolytic capacitors, which are rated
for a maximum voltage, but they don't work very well if the actual voltage
is too far below the maximum (like a 100-volt capacitor in a 1-volt
circuit).