I thought in DC, they just square dance with each other.
Comment on The speed of light
MeThisGuy@feddit.nl 1 week agoand electrons in a DC wire don’t travel, but push?
and in AC they go both ways?
I dunno electro physics was never my strong suit…
heartSagan5@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
Zink@programming.dev 1 week ago
I think they do move, but it’s slower than you might think. The voltage / EMF / potential travels super fast on the same order of magnitude as the speed of light, but the net motion of the electrons in a DC current flow slower than WE can move.
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
No, it’s weirder than that.
When you make a difference in potential, it creates an electric field within the metal, electrons in the conductor tend to drift to the more positive side through the path that offers less resistance, thus creating an electrical current.
It’s all about the fields, all the real work happens outside the wire, the electrons are just going for a ride. (not to imply it would work without them)
iocase@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
Imma break your brain
The energy in a circuit isn’t contained in the copper or the electrons, but in the electromagnetic field that is applying a force to move those electrons
In a printed circuit, the energy in a circuit technically exists between the copper leads (signal and return path) and not the copper itself. It’s in the fiberglass of a board.
We experience the symptoms of an electromagnetic field via copper a lot. It’s where our intuition comes from and where rule of thumb laws like ohms law or the power law come from. However, they are lying to you in order to make it more understandable.
This is also why radio works. You’re just making the signal conductor one antenna, and the return path the receiver antenna suuuuper far away.
“There are two types of electrical engineers in this world: those that design antennas by accident, and those that do it on purpose.”