Current wants to flow downhill, from higher potentials to lower, just as hydraulic flows will tend to go from higher pressure to lower. Of course it can. Power Like mechanical dampers, resistors can only absorb power. They cannot store it, so they can never be the source of a flow of power to another component. For components which can have i and V of different signs, power may be either positive or negative.
Resistors have a maximum power rating.
The materials in that bulb are not capable of more than 75 watts of power. Recognizing a resistor The above are actual resistors used in circuits. Sometimes they are labeled with text stating their resistance and power rating. However, more often than not, the colored lines are used to identify them. For more pictures of resistors, and information on how to identify the color codes, click here .