Peculiarities of Joule dissipation in the solar atmosphere

The peculiarities of the electric current dissipation in the magnetic flux rope throughout the solar atmosphere from the photosphere to the corona are considered. It has been shown that the dissipation depends on both the magnitude of the electric current and the altitude. The dissipation rate reaches its maximum near an altitude of 2100 km and has a rather complex behaviour. The regions of predominance of Cowling and Spitzer resistances are determined. The consequences of these peculiarities in current problems of solar physics are discussed.