Electronic – Resistor power rating for short pulses

The data sheet should mention the peak power or current capabilities of the resistor. It is usually much higher than the mean power rating, but if it is not specified anywhere, I would rather not rely on it.

Note that not all resistors of the same size and power rating are created equal. There are some that are designed (and specified!) for peak power ratings well beyond the mean power rating, and there are some that are not.

I have seen resistors fail when their mean power rating was exceeded just briefly, so it's indeed necessary to check what manufacturer and type you're using and if it has the right specs.

Yageo specifies both maximum current and maximum power, see page 5 of the datasheet:

\$P_{max}\$: 100 mW
\$I_{max}\$: 1 A

and you'll also see that for the jumper

\$R_{max}\$: 50 mΩ

That seems inconsistent: 1 A through 50 mΩ is only 50 mW, not 100 mW. In these cases you have to work with the lower value: 50 mW, since 100 mW would mean a 1.4 A current, which exceeds the 1 A limit.

EEs often scoff at the 5 % tolerance specification for the 0 Ω resistor. The engineers at Yageo know that that doesn't make sense, and if you take a good look at page 2 you'll see that they don't specify 5 % for the jumper at all:

F = ± 1 %
J = ± 5 % (for Jumper ordering, use code of J)

which should be read as "we use the same code for a jumper as the tolerance for other values". It does not implied that the 5 % tolerance would apply to the jumper.

Specifying maximum power isn't silly either: the part's weight and specific thermal capacity determine that, regardless of resistance value.