1
vote
2answers
80 views

Currents and the Speed of Light

Why is it that currents don't flow at the speed of light, but rather significant ratios of the speed of light. I don't have any formal reasoning as to why they would flow at the speed of light-I just ...
1
vote
1answer
43 views

Understanding drift velocities in currents

I have a doubt about the understanding of drift velocities in a current. My problem is that the textbook speaks very loosely about this. It's like: "well, if we apply a field $E$ then the charges will ...
2
votes
2answers
179 views

Flow of electrons in a circuit

When the electrons flow in a circuit, so are those the electrons from the battery or are those the electrons of conductor like copper wire, etc..which are flowing in the circuit?
2
votes
1answer
148 views

Positive test charge

Protons have positive charge on them. Protons aren't mobile. So how can a positive test charge move from the negative terminal of a cell to the positive terminal and gain electric potential energy? ...
3
votes
3answers
390 views

Where do electrons in electricity come from?

Where do the electrons come from when an electric generator is making electricity? Is from the air? Would a generator work in a vacuum? Electrons have mass so where would they be pulled from if ...
2
votes
3answers
608 views

is it possible to flow current in open circuit?

First , i don't know much about chemistry and physics. I'm just a graphic designer but i have this question in my mind. I'm sorry if this question is too basic and use 'generic' language. As i know ...
0
votes
1answer
84 views

Why is the anode (+) in a device that consumes power & (-) in one that provides power?

I was trying to figure out the flow of electrons in a battery connected to a circuit. Conventionally, current is from the (+) terminal to the (-) terminal of the battery. Realistically it flows the ...
3
votes
2answers
383 views

How do electrons know that?

The current is maximum through those segments of a circuit that offer the least resistance. But how do electrons know beforehand that which path will resist their drift the least?
1
vote
1answer
978 views

Which derivation of drift velocity is correct?

In the derivation of drift velocity I have seen two variations and want to know which one's correct. $s=ut+\frac{at^2}{2}$ Assume that the drift velocity of any electron in any conductor is : ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views

How does electricity propagate in a conductor?

On a systems level, I understand that as electrons are pushed into a wire, there is a net field and a net electron velocity. And I've read that the net electron drift is slow. But electricity ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views

Why is the charge naming convention wrong?

I recently came to know about the Conventional Current vs. Electron Flow issue. Doing some search I found that the reason for this is that Benjamin Franklin made a mistake when naming positive and ...