How Fast is an Electron and Electricity
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ธ.ค. 2012
- How fast is an electron in a wire and how fast is electricity? An electron moves surprisingly slow, slower than a snail, while electricity moves at near the speed of light. Electrons move at what's called the drift velocity. This video illustrates all this in an entertaining and informative way. Enjoy!
ERROR!!! At 2:00, I say 0.0007 m/s. That should have been 0.00007 m/s.
This video has correct English captions. Click on the CC button at the bottom of the video to see them.
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This video made me look up a video about snails. Which made me find a video about snail reproduction and birth. Which made me look up a video about the banana slug. Which recommended a video about the sea slug. Which made me look up a video about jellyfish. Which made me look up a video about the jellyfish life cycle. Which gave me a recommendation video about jelly fish stings. Which made me look up a video about hornet stings. Which gave me a video of a hornet and a spider fighting each other. Which sent me to a video about spider bites. Which sent me to a video about different types of venom. Which led me to a video about neuro-toxins. Which led me to a video about scorpions. Which led me to a video about fluorescence in scorpions. Which led me to a video about UV light. Which led me to a video about light wave frequencies. Which led me to a video about photons. Which led me to a video about the Large Hadron Collider. Which led me to a video about positrons. Which made me find a video about electrons.
*WHICH LED ME DIRECTLY BACK TO THIS VIDEO.*
Dammit TH-cam, you keep putting me on these wild-video-binge-sprees.
+Cygnus' Edge thts a cool adventure you had. i wish i get adventures like that :(
+Cygnus' Edge LOL!
Look up the song "I would not be here" by John Hartford.
this reminds me of the banana slugs we have around here and they are orange in color and the cat we used to have which was always eating those slugs (ewwwwww) anyways his mouth was always orange so we named him 'Sluggah" lol
You won't believe, but I came to this video from starting watching video lecture about economic history at morning. Now is noon.
Terrific video!
However, @1:56-2:05, your drift velocity of "0.0007m/s" and "0.0028 inches per second" do not jibe.
I think you meant 0.00007m/s. Then the conversion to 0.0028 inches per second would make sense.
(A point of reference: Per Wikipedia, drift velocity is 0.000023m/s)
You're right. I checked my notes and I calculated:
v=I/nAq=0.194/(8.5x10^28 x 0.000000205 x -1.6x10^-19)=0.00007m/s=-0.0028inches/s
But in my script, I wrote 0.0007m/s and must have used that as my source for what to put in the annotation on the video (I record voiceover audio and then edit the video to match the voiceover).
Unfortunately, I can't change the video but I've added a note to the video description and I'll "heart" your comment, which should keep it near the top.
Thanks!
We had linesmen from the electric company replacing a pole in our yard for a long drop. I asked them how fast the electrons move from the power company. They said the speed of light. I told them a feet a day or so and they said no way. They were not aware of the "Electron Sea." Eye opening. Thank you for the awesome video!
Greenpowerscience Indeed, it would be the kind of speed you say if it were DC. As it is rather AC, the free electrons are pushed back and forth in the vicinity of where they are, which is within a distance of .1 mm. Even .1 mm is a tremendous distance for a free electron surrounded by billions of atoms.
Wow, I always thought electrons moved like super fast like when lightning instantly moves from cloud to ground.
Lightning is in the state of plasma, so the electrons are separated free from the nucleus. I assume they move significantly faster, but again the lightning is only a pathway for the electrons to push each others in, not showing the actual speed of them.
I think this definitely a theory. When you attach a battery to a wire, a light bulb, and a ground it turns on instantly. It doesn’t take 1 hour for it turn on in a fresh wire. I understand everything has electrons but it wouldn’t detach from the copper wires to form this “marble line”. Those copper wires would degrade very quickly don’t you think?? 😂😂
You're great! I will use your videos to increase my knowledge and pass it on. I subscribed.
I'm glad you like it. I could have gone with a lower level explanation and showed animated atoms and electrons in a wire and the electromagnetic wave drifting movement of the free electrons but I decided to keep it at a lighter, higher level and more fun explanation.
Thanks for the vote of confidence and encouragement, my friend! It helps!
Thank you immensely for this video. It is very clear and makes it no harder than it needs to be. 👍
Fantastic video! It really helped me understand!
Damn snails win again!
thanks :) like ur analogy and the way u simplify things ...
Thanks for the video. It helped a lot.
Thanks. I enjoy your animation too, along with the humor you add.
Great explanation! Very informative!
Great explanation. Thanks !
Oh sir, amazing stuff, I grew up thinking that electrons were moving at speeds closer to the speed of light, thank you so much.
Richard Feynman rocks. I love reading bios of his humorous life as well as his lectures.
I think "drift velocity" of electrons is aptly named. Lots of vibration but they slowly make their way in one direction or the other.
Good man. Next time when I study drift velocity I will understand that subject better.
The marble example was a simple yet brilliant explanation thank you
It's a constant battle with me. Sometimes I show in metric and sometimes in imperial and sometimes both. I don't think I'll win this battle. :D Metric rocks though!
You ignored the plasma or wave state of electrons. Electrons are of marbles and don't act as such.
Wow this video was very informative. I never knew how fast the electricity travelled through a given circuit, but I always assumed that value would be the same as the speed of the electron. Thanks for this video, you've definitely earned my sub!
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. And welcome!
WOW.. I did not know that electrons themselves move that slow. I'm 59 and been around home construction and renovations all my adult life. I learn something new everyday. Thanks :)
you made my day thanks for the sharing knowledge in a simple way
Thanks for sharing my videos with your students! I'm glad you like them enough to use in class. I'll try and speak slower, and clearer, but in some older videos where I did, I found the videos were too slow for english people. I'll see what I can do. Does it help if I put english captions? The automatic captions are no good but in this video I have correct english captions. Often people have trouble understanding spoken english but can read it more easily, and at their own speed when needed.
thanks for sharing your knowledge
From my research for my How a Van de Graaff Generator Works video, I found it gets complicated real fast, plus there are lots of options. Added to the todo list.
That's the way I think of it too. I think of the standard model as a mess but it's done wonders for us. There are other useful models and we'll find more as we learn more. A healthy, productive way for looking at it.
As far as I can tell from another formula for drift velocity, yes. Makes sense too since voltage is joules per coulomb, basically energy per electron. More voltage, more energy for each electron.
One thing I would like to mention: In this time of high capacity rechargeable batterys, it can be very dangerous to solder leads directly to a battery--a holder is best. But although your battery may be much safer to solder to, many people don't do this safely. The best way I have come up with, which seems to work, is to make sure the battery is discharged, then polish off the ends with fine emery cloth, put the batt in a hollow tube--like a solder spool, tin the battery ends, tin the wire ends, then let cool. Now quickly, with a fairly low-powered iron heat one batt terminal and wire together--let cool--then repeat for the other end. A little practice makes this quick, safe, and easy...still not recommended.
One more "trick" question your video brings to mind--"HOW FAST WOULD IT TAKE THAT AC CURRENT TO CIRCLE THE CIRCUIT?"
Thanks for some of the BEST-presented videos around!!!
excellent video!
Thanks a lot..
With your video you made me correct a big mistake in the concept of the speed of electrons. Unfortunately a lot of Teachers explain it very very badly. And often they don't approach this subject.
Genius...thanks for the video. I have tried to explain this fact to people in the past (even electricians), but it just doesn't seem to get through to them. I'll keep this link and forward it to them next time I have this discussion.
finally... all these people saying "electrons move in a current" etc had me confused... I was thinking "wait... the electrons of an atom just jump to another atom???? They ionize themselves??" And that sounded dumb af so I searched for a better visual explanation until I got it...
Why do people expect others to know what they are talking about, explain first and preferably visually. Thanks for the video
thanks, i was doing calculations and getting tiny numbers this explains it well :)
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Ah! Yes! So you're the one who's question led to my making this video. Thanks! I usually mention that in my videos but forgot to this time - was really pressed for time.
Yup, I often find pressure as a useful analogy for voltage. Thinking of current as speed is almost right, more precisely is electrons passing a point per second.
Great vid! Thank you! I do wonder if that applies to an arc as well. I would imagine electrons move much fast without an easily conducting medium such as copper.
Thank you for a great (+funny) explanation!
Hmmm... Good question. With the emission of photons/light from electrons dropping in energy levels I guess, along with the ions and free electrons it seems like it'd be a lot more complex than what goes on in a wire.
That's quite similar to my view as well. Although direct current was quite difficult for me to model quantitatively until I saw this video and had this discussion :)
Very well explained :D thanks.
Great video. My 7 years old son asked me if light in the wire travels the same speed as light from the sun. That answers it 👍🏻
Nice job!
Wow!!! I have so much to learn!
Normally the load is the thing you want to power. In this case I needed the light bulb to show that the circuit was powered. But I guess I would have needed it anyway for the basic reason you mentioned, to act as a resistance so that the current running through the circuit wouldn't be so high that the battery would drain too quickly.
I like your videos! You could do a great piece on voltage and current. Perhaps you could include a couple observations I've noted about voltage and current... their colors in sparks; their origin in circuits; their direction of flow; and their relation to charge and other charged mediums. For instance, high voltage electricity discharges bluish purple, can originate in dielectric materials or collapsing magnetic fields, and has characteristics of negative charge including direction of action.
You are awesome! thanks!
No problem. The todo list isn't published anywhere so you had no way of knowing. I just wanted to let you know that it's on the list. It's a long list but since a few have asked for it I might bump it up. Thanks for the request.
thanks dude, interesting info...
Hey, you have given me a new idea!
If analog current is modeled with an electron-positron swing pair that constantly changes direction in a swinging motion then direct current could be modeled with a constant one direction spin/rotation of the pairs.
That would make your analogy very good. Now I need to run some numbers.
I humbly thank you! :)
Thanks. It's hard to know the problem since I'm english, so your input really helps. I'll see what I can do.
How does a AC current move? The same like the marbles?
excelente explicacion!
Oh I rember questioning this same issue a while ago in your another video. Thanks for explaining it even further. I still have to wrap my mind around this to replace my old false conception of the actual electrons racing in the wires at lightning speed.
I would've also liked to know what's the relation of voltage and current to the speed/force of the electrons. Could voltage be considered as the pushing force, and current as the speed?
Bravo Rimstar, i think you did a very good job explaining in laymens term. in video form..people are lazy to read nowdays to learn. To my opinion, its the info that is valuable.., the way it is transmitted is secondary..and the unit it uses is more less important..cheers!
I love it. That video is great
Great explanation 👍👌👌👌
Enlightening.
i aways wondered this ,thank you
Another educational moment. In the age of "Information " you would think more truth than lies. But after being human for a while, I am ashamed to say, "It's human nature." But thank goodness for guys like rim*. He actually builds- what other ppl are not. Plus he edits good. And the commentary is helpful. (sad teachers get paid so poorly. Our education system with this would be awesome.""" Almost 80k bro ;). I bet by Christmas. Bam. Maybe 100k+. You should be paid by TH-cam imho... A weirdo plays video games and makes BANK, but actual knowledge... Ok ok. I,lil stop... Ty
You're welcome. I'm glad it helps.
Gracias por el video!
wow I actually didnt know that. I always assumed it was just fast moving electrons. This almost completely changes how i look at electrical physics, and explains why I didnt get a lot of it.
Well, not quite. This video is about how fast the electrons move down a wire. For how they move I'd have to do animations showing atoms and orbiting electrons with free electrons moving between them. Depending on the level I'd explain it at, I could talk about voltages and electric field or at a quantum mechanical level I'd even go into virtual particles and probabilities. Some of that is probably the way you imagined.
If drift velocity of electrons is variable based on wire area, current, free electrons, and charge, then does its change have any bearing on amplitude of radio waves created from a radio station? I know that power (watts) determines the quantity of radio photons sent out (and therefore propagation distance), but does how far the electrons wiggle as they oscillate at 100 million cycles per second affect the amplitude of the radio photon wave?
correct me if i'm wrong, but i think there are 3 types of velocities that are usually discussed when talking about "speed of electricity":
1. electromagnetic wave velocity (addressed in video as "speed of electricity")
2. drift velocity (addressed in video)
3. fermi velocity (not addressed)
this video seemed to neglect mentioning that the drift velocity is an averaged velocity, meaning this is the average speed and direction of electrons. each electron can individually travel at the fermi velocity (on the order of 1% speed of light) in a random direction, but slightly biased in the direction of the applied electric field. this slight bias gives rise to the drift velocity, which is a much much smaller amplitude than the fermi velocity.
You're welcome. I glad you liked it!
You're welcome. Glad you liked it.
Real good video. Should we be introducing Quantum Mechanics earlier in electronics classes? When you introduce the fact that electrons move slowly through a conductor it blows most of the training that students have already been taught.
Clear and concise. Electrons move at a slow pace.
The drift velocity mentioned in the video is the average diference in the movement of electrons. Each individual electron is moving at Fermi Velocity (near speed of light magnitude) with or without the electrical field and is barely affected when the switch is closed. This "barely affected" is the mentioned 0.001m/s or something that we call drift velocity (with the circuit open the movement is purely random and drift velocity is zero).
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
I don't get why the snail would guess the electron moves at the same speed as him though? The snail would see the electron still back near the starting line.
good production
According to the formula for the drift velocity I show at 1:56 in the video, it's partly dependent on the electrical current. The current is typically less in water due to the higher resistance so the velocity would be less than in a wire with low resistance. I'm not sure about the resistance of an ion stream in a vacuum tube.
Wow wow wow wow .... Subscribed...I loved your channel.. Good bless you
Nice i heard 1st time pbout these its really amazing 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Good info
Thanks!
Thank you sir
Good video, although you clarify that the drift velocity of the electrons is not the same as the total velocity of the electrons in the copper wire. The actual velocity of the electrons at room temperature (the thermal velocity) is about 115 km/s which is indeed random.
Nice, It solved my doubt, I was just imagining why in a generator the electrons doesn't finishes quickly!
great video. now i understand how electrons move. not the way i've imagined.
I'm glad I could help, even it was by accident. :D
That's my understanding too, sadly. Quantum mechanics talks about momentum exchanges with virtual particles and probabilities and string theory probably has some form of explanation too but I wouldn't say we know what those charges are either.
I was using electricity in the sense of how fast the effect of turning on a switch travels through the wire to turn on a light. It seems almost instantaneous, almost at the speed of light, but it's a lot faster than the electrons move. I didn't go into that level of detail in the video but I'm using the electromagnetic wave along the wire as electricity. The electrons are intermediaries for the wave. Electricity is a term that's used a lot of different ways.
can you go in detail ?
Nice!
Do we know if there is any change in the speed of light in a superconductive field? Thx!
oh, ok, that's very nice, waiting for it.
Thanks! I'm glad you like it! The speed of electrons in an arc has been asked here before but I haven't been able to find an answer yet. Copper is very conductive. The air through which an arc flows is also made conductive through ionization by a number of means before the arc occurs, but I don't know how conductive. Just that it's conductive enough for the electrons of the arc to flow through.
I think some electrons are "lightly bound" or "floating" in the valence band of atoms. I think these electrons actually move much faster than mentioned "drift velocity" less than but, about the speed of light, however only distance of a single atom. I suppose everytime an electron jumps to the next atom, it is likely that not it but some other electron jumps the next time instead, so this could explain the "slow speed" of an individual electron.
yeah but what if the snail goes the wrong way
Talking about why electrons move wasn't the purpose of the video. But voltage (which is what makes electrons move) is on the todo list. Not sure if I'll do one on battery chemistry though.
Interesting question. Not sure it would fill a video though. One all about lightning might.
That's a fun calculation! Let's say the cable from your power pole transformer runs 70 feet to reach your breaker box. 70feet x 12inches/foot = 840inches. 840inches / 0.0028inches/second = 300,000seconds. 300,000sec / 60sec/min = 5000minutes. 5000min / 60min/hour = 83.3hours. 83.3hours / 24hours/day = 3.47 days.
But 0.0028 inches/second is for a current of only 0.194 amps. Using 30 amps and 10 AWG wire (?) for example, drift velocity is 0.017 inches/sec, and 13.7 hours.
Hi, do voltage and the size of a current affet the speed of electrons?
Since an ampere is defined as 6.241*10^18 electrons (1 Coulomb) per second passing through a point in a circuit, I guess the larger the number of ampere, the faster the electrons travel?
Increasing the current changes how many pass through a point per second but not how fast they move. Speed is distance per time so how many meters per second, which is different than current. I'm not sure what would affect the speed the electron moves through the wire.
well done
Very Good
speed of electron pressure is crazy fast, but physical speed slow. Analogous to air, with wind versus sound
ty sir now i can understand ^^
physical speed in what aspect?,do you mean when its in a wire or outside so that interference with normal matter is negligible?
pressure on what ?
As I understand it, electricity is like a carpet or a very long string. Even if it is kilometres long, the one end will move (virtually) immediately after the other is pulled although each individual fibre or molecule moved very little (how much you pulled it). There's also the detail that drifting electrons are frequently recaptured by atoms and orbit them before being free again as they travel so they actually make a crazy jigsawing path.
It is very difficult to understand for most of the people - the difference between electric current and electron drift.
At negative end of the wire, there is (at least) one electron in 'excess', and at positive end (electron shell has one 'extra' electron - something like ionized state), there is so called 'electron hole' (electron shell lacking one electron).
Then, from first atom release electron to next one, and then next one to another one, and so on (this in turn cause atoms to 'jiggle' producing heat). This does not means that an 'original' electron propagate further, but instead another electron (already in outer electron shell) 'jumps' from atom to atom.
The 'information' about difference in 'excess' of one electron and 'lack' of another (electron hole), propagate close to speed of light. But, original electron at the beginning slowly migrate, or as you said: drift - from one atom to another at velocity you mentioned on this video.
To be more clear about electron 'excess'/'electron hole', think this way: transmission line (or coaxial cable, for example) - while pulse on one wire is positive, it induces opposite charge on another wire. But due to close proximity of two wires, electron/hole 'pairs' propagate close to the surface of the conductor, and it is so called 'skin effect' - where depending of the frequency, signal propagates very close to the surface of the conductors, and very little in depth of the conductive material. The higher the frequency, the shallower is skin depth.
While opposite charges at one instant of time tend to attract that two wires, induced magnetic fields on both wires are in opposite direction, and tend to repel two wires - so, net effect of attraction/repulsion is close to zero (but not exactly zero - depending whether voltage or current dominates).
This explains the first cause of an electric current process to be fast at any distance but then this analogy dictates that the current itself would move slow. If electric current is modeled as movement of electrons then they all must travel at the same fast speed... This is actually something I am currently preparing a new quantitative model for. I'm modeling electric current with positrons moving to one direction and electrons to the opposite.