Home Tweakers' Asylum

Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

RE: Have you tried it?

To expound further on Davey's point, the idea that electrons or charge carriers are marching back and forth on a wire is a rather poor simplification. The current density at a given point is changing but the actual movement of charge carriers (drift velocity) is slow. The movement of free electrons in a metal is random and application of a voltage (electron force) causes a general shift of the electrons in the opposite direction of the field. In a conductive solid this rate of movement is about 1 mm/sec, and in a vacuum tube, it is about 1/10 the speed of light. This is different from the electromagnetic wave that is propagated (see Maxwell). Also the assignment of the direction of the carriers is entirely arbitrary based on the convention that electrons have a negative charge. So the idea that current flow is affected by the orientation of a fuse is just nonsense.



"Our head is round in order to allow our thoughts to change direction." Francis Picabia



Edits: 08/08/20

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
  • RE: Have you tried it? - neolith 13:39:22 08/05/20 (1)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.