What is electricity ?

[Darkwood]

Just for my own curiosity I was wondering what members actually think electricity is and how does it flow etc...

I was a little bored and decided to clock some educational youtube videos on the basics but I'm just dumbfounded how much misinformation is out there and this is the same stuff taught in schools in my days and still today so without cheating and trying to get an instant degree in advanced electrical theory via Google I was just wondering how you all perceive what is probably your bread and butter.?

 

[SparkyChick]

As far as I understand it...

In it's most base form, electricity is a difference in potential caused by an excess (or shortage) of electrons.

When we perceive current flowing from positive to negative it's actually a flow of electrons from negative to positive trying to address a manufactured imbalance in charges.

Electrons are influenced by magnetic fields which yields the ability to generate electricity using mechanical means and an imbalance can be created by chemical means which facilitates batteries.

Whilst electricity appears to be instant, possibly leading to the assumption that electrons travel incredibly quickly, the actual motion of electrons is quite slow (relatively speaking).

That's me done

 

[Deleted account]

The only think that can top sparky chicks explanation is if anyone cares to grapple with quantum theory.

I would love to explain it to everyone, but cannot as it baffles me.

 

[Darkwood]

Ok I see the model school teachings seeping through here.. so I will ask a few questions

What speed do the electrons travel at in yer standard household copper conductor (ball park figure will do)?
What happens in AC to electron flow?
Where about on the conductor does the 'electricity flow' occur?

I am asking these not to try trip anyone up I am just interested to see how members understand electric and whether it is based on the basic schooling principles we are taught or whether they have delved deeper.

 

[telectrix]

it's friday. the chiller is cooling my Jim beam. it works on electrictrickey. who cares how many electerons collide/move/have sex/ self destroy on getting my fridge working?.

 

[davesparks]

What speed do the electrons travel at in yer standard household copper conductor (ball park figure will do)?
What happens in AC to electron flow?
Where about on the conductor does the 'electricity flow' occur?

I did physics, chemistry and electronics at A level before starting my apprenticeship.

1: surprisingly slowly, I can’t remember the equation but seem to recall it’s referred to as electron drift which is a better description.
2: I can’t remember,
3: it’s dependant on frequency but the tendency is for the current flow to occur towards the surface of the conductor rather than the middle. The higher the frequency is the thinner the skin depth. If I remember correctly at 50Hz the skin depth is around 8mm.

Another good question is the direction of electron flow from a battery,

 

[The Ghost]

Furkin dangerous

 

[haptism]

Electricity is energy caused by movement, thats why if you contact it you'l get energy and start to move. Even when you listen to it, it can bring on movement; this is what propels people who go out raving, although nowdays the raving scene is not what it was cause everyone gone low energy LED. Well thats what i think anyway

 

[rsgaz]

I like the old "the electrons in a light switch never actually leave the switch"

It's just the same ones shuffling back and forth at 50Hz. Some near the edge will jump over to the wire, then jump back again into the brass terminal a 100th of a second later!

 

[Nigel]

Electricity keeps me getting paid.

The end.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

There are a number of speeds that relate to electricity.
1, The speed of the electromagnetic wave or signal.
Very close to the speed of light.
2,The speed of the flow of electrons.
Relatively slow, about 3m per second.
3, The speed of the frequency.
50 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz, etc.

Current flows along the surface of a conductor (skin effect), which is why stranded conductors can carry more current than solid and very fine stranded cables even more.

 

[Deleted account]

Aprox 4miles per hour a bit faster after lunch.

 

[telectrix]

i'm usually slowerafterlunch, esp.if it'saliquid lunch.

 

[KEV 1 N]

I always think of electricity as a sort of “flow and return” flow being the live and return the neutral, which is possibly why I’ve generally found plumbing to be a doddle! Particularly once you installed the pipes, they fill themselves with water, where as once conduit is installed, the cables have to be pulled in

 

[Darkwood]

I think we have some idea amongst the answers.
Electricity is the propagation of energy through the electromagnetic field and in fact it does not use the conductor as such in the way we are taught, it is the field interaction around the conductor that moves the signal/energy wave, the conductor acts like a guide wire, it is not actually conducting the energy through it, however the field and conductor interact and this interaction occurs over the surface to a depth dependant on field strength, because it occurs across the surface of the conductor we call it the skin effect and this is where there is generated the electron drift, this is also why overloaded conductors get hot because the valence electrons cannot keep pace with the energy imbued on them and the dance around like James Brown on Speed, the more electrons IE the thicker the cable the better it can deal with the increased field strength.

I never understood why we are taught it all wrong, now I appreciate it is simplified for visualisation but getting the direction of 'current flow' wrong in our school is not really good education, I spent yrs not really understanding why electric in a DC circuit was always shown as flowing from positive to negative, I thought I just didn't get it until I asked my final year physics teacher who told me I was correct and to ignore most of the stuff in the text books ... as it is just for simplified expression so as not to confuse.