Normally, in a conductor, increasing electric field causes higher charge carrier (usually electron) speeds and results in higher current consistent with Ohm's law. In a multi-valley semiconductor, though, higher energy may push the carriers into a higher energy state where they actually have higher effective mass and thus slow down. In effect, carrier velocities and current drop as the voltage is increased. While this transfer occurs, the material exhibits a decrease in current – that is, a negative differential resistance. At higher voltages, the normal increase of current with voltage relation resumes once the bulk of the carriers are kicked into the higher energy-mass valley. Therefore the negative resistance only occurs over a limited range of voltages.