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I have lots of doubts regarding electrical energy, electric current and voltage. I have tried to understand as much I can but every time I try to completely clear my concept, I encounter a dilemma! So here are they -

  1. First of all, voltage:-

The electric potential at any point in an electric field is the amount of work done by the external force in bringing unit positive charge from infinity (U = 0) to that point. In direction of electric field potential decreases. Now I have a battery having potential difference of 2V , Now how this potential difference is created, I mean there must be some constant (or not constant?) electric field, along/against which a charge had been moved so as to increase potential energy. So how this occurs? potential difference without field how ??

NEXT:- Since a battery has potential difference of 2V i.e. electric field will go from higher to lower potential (2 to 0), so why not the mobile charge due to which potential energy is there in the battery, move and thus causing self depletion of electrical energy of the battery.

  1. Electric field due to battery

When we insert a battery into a circuit, due to potential difference it creates electric field going from high potential to low potential. Taking one terminal as high potential and other as low (which one is the one ?) , then electric field should go from one terminal to other terminal. So how electrons in the wire start moving due to field ?? How this field bends along with wire? Is this field constant (why) ? what happens to the field inside of the battery ??

  1. Potential drop and energy dissipation

How energy is supplied to electrical appliances in the circuit? In what from electrons carry energy? how electrons get energy? why this energy is not dissipated in the wire (since they are travelling against electric field)

If you got irritated by this, then please explain all the core concepts related.

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    $\begingroup$ All caps are the digital equivalent of shouting. In bold it is even worse. In your case it is a sign of desperation, clearly, but please reconsider your style. $\endgroup$
    – my2cts
    Commented Oct 8, 2021 at 7:51
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    $\begingroup$ Okay I will keep that in mind from next time. Thank you for enlightening. For this question, I have made the changes ! $\endgroup$
    – Spencer
    Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 3:47
  • $\begingroup$ Asking so many questions in a single post isn't advisable, I did it once and got downvoted and didn't even attract much answers, I think posting different questions for each question will be better if u are looking for multiple answers to choose from. You have already accepted one here, but don't use a single post for multiple questions from further on. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 3:54

2 Answers 2

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The electric potential at any point in an electric field is the amount of work done by the external force in bringing unit positive charge from infinity (U = 0) to that point. In direction of electric field potential decreases.

While what you say is correct, this definition of electric potential at a point is not particularly useful in analyzing electric circuits where we are more interested in the potential difference or voltage between two points. The potential difference $V$ between two points is the work per unit charge required to move the charge between the two points.

Now I have a battery having potential difference of 2V , Now how this potential difference is created...

Without getting into too much detail on how a battery works, the potential difference between the terminals of a battery is created by chemical reactions that separate positive and negative charge at the battery terminals. That creates an electric field between the terminals which, when connected to a circuit, moves charge in the circuit creating current.

NEXT:- Since a battery has potential difference of 2V i.e. electric field will go from higher to lower potential (2 to 0)...

First of all, any point in a circuit can arbitrarily assigned a potential of zero. Frequently that point is the negative terminal of a battery as you indicated. But it doesn't have to be. In your example the negative terminal can be assigned any potential, as long as the potential at the positive terminal differs by +2 volts. So the potential could just as well be from 4 to 2.

..so why not the mobile charge due to which potential energy is there in the battery, move and thus causing self depletion of electrical energy of the battery.

It is a common misconception that the battery supplies the charge for the current in the circuit. It doesn't. It provides the electric field that does work to move the mobile charge carriers already in the circuit (e.g. the free electrons in a metal wire). But the work done by the battery to move the charge in the circuit comes from the conversion of chemical potential energy to electrical potential energy. It is the chemical energy that is eventually used up. When that happens, the battery can no longer provide a potential difference and do work.

  1. Electric field due to battery

So how electrons in the wire start moving due to field ??

As stated above, the electric field $E$ established by the battery almost instantaneously in the circuit exerts a force on the mobile charge carriers in the circuit causing them to immediately start moving. In so doing the field does work to move the charge.

How this field bends along with wire?

Basically, it's because when a wire is bent an imbalance of surface charge builds up on the surface of the wire causing the field to "bend". Check out the answer in the following link for more details.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-the-electric-field-therefore-the-electric-force-in-a-wire-remain-parallel-to-the-wire-even-if-it-is-randomly-curved-current-still-flows

Is this field constant (why) ? what happens to the field inside of the battery ??

The strength of the field is basically constant. It's the voltage that is not constant. The electric field is the voltage gradient along the conductor.

Basically, the field in the battery is maintained by the conversion of chemical potential energy to electrical potential energy maintaining a potential difference between the terminals, until the chemicals are consumed.

How energy is supplied to electrical appliances in the circuit? In what form electrons carry energy? how electrons get energy? why this energy is not dissipated in the wire (since they are traveling against electric field)

All these questions are somewhat repetitive of the previous ones. So, briefly

How energy is supplied to electrical appliances in the circuit?

By a voltage source (battery or ac) that supplies electrical potential energy to the charges which, in turn, convert that potential energy into heat and/or work.

In what from electrons carry energy?

I assume you mean "form" not "from".

It has already been explained the battery, or in the case of ac appliances, the ac voltage source, establishes an electric field that exerts a force doing work on the mobile charge carriers. That work gives the electrons kinetic energy. So the "form" of the energy carried by the electrons is kinetic energy.

how electrons get energy?

Asked and answered- by a voltage source doing work.

why this energy is not dissipated in the wire (since they are traveling against electric field)

A portion of the energy is dissipated in the resistance that exists everywhere in the circuit, not just the interconnecting wires. In the case of resistance wire heating appliances, where heat is the desired product, most of the energy is dissipated as heat in the heater wire. For things like motor operated appliances, some energy is lost as heat but generally most of it is converted to mechanical energy.

In closing, the above explanations are not a substitute for a good basic textbook on electric circuits and circuit theory. I suggest you get hold of one.

Hope this helps.

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    $\begingroup$ I understand it is not easy to explain certain concept at the level required by the OP (introducing the Poynting vector would be excessive) but wouldn't "So the "form" of the energy carried by the electrons is kinetic energy" be confusing to them? If the energy is kinetic, once they lose it in a collision they should not be able to regain it again. I am not sure how to explain the transport in a mechanistic way at this level (or even it it possible to do it - for example, Ohms law cannot be quantitatively explained by classical physics) but maybe the OP should be aware of these limits. $\endgroup$
    – Peltio
    Commented Oct 8, 2021 at 14:03
  • $\begingroup$ @Peltio I could have gone into the fact that the electrons alternatively gain KE from the field and lose KE in collisions so that the drift current is constant and all the rest of the stuff you mention, but I felt the the OP, who is a student, is too new to the subject. That's why I said what I did in the last paragraph. $\endgroup$
    – Bob D
    Commented Oct 8, 2021 at 14:19
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you very very much for such a great and clear explanation. It made most of the things clear. Of what "kinetic energy regain mechanics" are you guys taking about ? Also "OP" ?? $\endgroup$
    – Spencer
    Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 3:37
  • $\begingroup$ @VishalAnand The electrons alternatively get kinetic energy from the force of the electric field and lose it due to collisions with the atoms and molecules of the conductor, so that on average they move slowly at a constant drift velocity (constant current) .Think about it like being in stop and go traffic alternatively accelerating and decelerating. Eventually you get there with your average velocity equal to the distance traveled divided by the time to get there. $\endgroup$
    – Bob D
    Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 21:15
  • $\begingroup$ Regarding "OP" , it's a generic, gender neutral, term referring to the person asking the question. I’m not sure what the letters refer to. It’s just a guess, but maybe it’s something like “original post” or “originator of the post” $\endgroup$
    – Bob D
    Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 21:15
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I'll try to Adress all your individual question. There are many, and it could be fruitful to split the question into two. But here we go.

Now how this potential difference is created

The battery potential difference is created by the internal electrochemistry which forces electrons to one pole. With many electrons accumulated there, this pole will have a higher electric repulsion than the other pole against any additional electrons arriving.

I mean there must be some constant (or not constant?) electric field, along/against which a charge had been moved so as to increase potential energy. So how this occurs? potential difference without field how ??

Indeed, and that is in fact an internal electric field caused by the chemical potential within. This field causes an electric force that forces electrons to accumulate at one pole. At some point the accumulated repulsion balances out this internal force - and then the battery is fully charged. The internal chemistry is in your example designed to exactly provide up to a 2V potential difference.

so why not the mobile charge due to which potential energy is there in the battery, move and thus causing self depletion

Because the internal electric forces caused by the chemical potentials are stronger than (or exactly equal to) the accumulated electric force that tries to make the electrons move away from the pole. Also, they can't jump out into the air since the air is not conductive and thus resists them even more strongly. They are thus stuck on that pole until a conductive path is provided.

Taking one terminal as high potential and other as low (which one is the one ?)

By default we always refer directions and highs vs lows to how a positive charge would behave. With many electrons accumulated on one pole, making it negatively charged, then if a positive charge was placed nearby, it would want to move towards this negative pole. Since objects always want to move towards states of less stored energy, then the negative pole is thus the one with low potential and the other and comparatively positive pole is associated with high potential.

Note, though, this is only a default terminology. A book that specifies that it is concerned with the energies of electrons as charge-carriers might use the terms oppositely, since an electron will want to move away from the electron-full pole, thus associating that pole with a high potential from the electron perspective. So be clear on the context in various textbooks.

electric field should go from one terminal to other terminal. So how electrons in the wire start moving due to field ?? How this field bends along with wire?

They move because they "queue up". An electron at the negative pole wants to move as far away from the pole as possible due to the enormous repulsion. When the only conductive path is away from the pole, then that is the way it will move.

This electron would then theoretically be satisfied with its new location somewhere within the wire and would not want to move further. But then another electron arrives. And yet another. Etc. Each electron carries its own electric field with it, and when queuing up like this, their electric fields will again accumulate like on the pole. But the accumulate will be momentary since the first electron of course simply will move further in on the wire.

Eventually it will be pushed all the way through. Simply because it isn't alone in the circuit. And at any bends or corners in the wire, there will in the same way we a slight tendency for charge accumulation until a charge inevitably will find the new path to move along.

Is this field constant (why)

It might be, for typical batteries that aren't depleted, yes. The queuing up of electrons effective means that any push on one is passed on to its neighbour. In this way the push is eventually the same throughout all parts of a (series connected) wire.

As long as the battery can sustain the constant 2V at the pole, that is - the current flow away from that pole thus mustn't be quicker than the chemical activity that moves electrons to this pole. This is typically labeled on a battery as the possible maximum current that can be drawn from the battery.

what happens to the field inside of the battery

It is upheld for as long as the chemical potential exists. The mechanisms here are very technology dependent and could for instant depend on the ratio of acid molecules to the electrode surface atoms.

How energy is supplied to electrical appliances in the circuit? In what from electrons carry energy?

What we call electric energy is essentially kinetic energy of the charges. That is, kinetic energy at the sub-atomic scale from the violent fluctuations and vibrations which particles like electrons constsly undergo. When electrons are slowly pushed through the circuit, then suddenly they are pushed into, say, more dense materials like the filament of a light bulb. This is also a conductor but one with higher resistance, meaning the electrons will jump into the material atoms.

With a collision happens energy transfer. Kinetic energy of the electron is passed on to a material atom within the material lattice. Eventually many atoms have now gained kinetic energy and are thus moving in rapid vibration. This is what we defined as thermal energy and temperature, and this eventually might glow and thus send off photons - then electric energy is converted into light.

why this energy is not dissipated in the wire (since they are travelling against electric field)

The energy that electrons carry is to some extend dissipated in the wires via collisions with the wire atoms. Wires will indeed get warm as well. But they are typically optimised to be as little resistive as possible to avoid this energy loss.


I hope this helps. Please let me know in comments if something is unclear.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you very much for this great explanation. Your simple and elaborated explanation helped a lot. I will get back to you for my upcoming doubts :) $\endgroup$
    – Spencer
    Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 15:18
  • $\begingroup$ Recently I encountered one more: For uniform (constant) electric field we have a relation as E = - ΔV/Δr . Now if the electric field provided by a battery is constant over a constant potential difference then, if we calculate the field between two point on a wire taking the same value of ΔV (as of battery) , the electric field will increase as we reduce the distance between the points (on the wire) which contradicts that the field is constant throughout the wire ??! Please explain ... $\endgroup$
    – Spencer
    Commented Nov 25, 2021 at 9:50

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