3 ms·
I understand electricity reasonably well, but that video has left me very confused. Multiple watchings didn't help. The first issue is I don't know what is rea
by kens 6y ago
I understand electricity reasonably well, but that video has left me very confused. Multiple watchings didn't help.
The first issue is I don't know what is real and what is metaphorical. The hydrogen orbitals are real? Are they squashed like that?. But the rotations are entirely fictional? Or do they correspond to electron spin? Do hydrogen atoms really share electron clouds or is that a metaphor?
Several specific issues: Ionized hydrogen doesn't have an electron, so what is the electron cloud. The ends of the wire rotating clockwise vs counterclockwise: the wires are pointing opposite directions, so the opposite directions cancel out, and they are rotating the same direction? Making a wire of single-file hydrogen: is that even theoretically possible? How is there drift velocity when the atoms are just rotating in place?
I understand that voltage is represented by the rotation speed in this model. (Is this different from momentum?) But what is current in this model? Everything was spinning when the circuit was open, and everything is still spinning when the circuit is closed.
What "level" of electricity is this model supposed to explain? It's discussing circuits, but I don't see how this model helps one understand why you need a resistor when connecting a LED to a battery, for instance. The resistor reduces current, which is not spin but propagation of an impulse? Or is the model supposed to help understand electric fields and stuff? (How would this model even explain an electric field in a vacuum, where there's nothing to spin?) Or is it intended to provide insight into what's happening at the quantum level?
I don't want to be critical, so hopefully these comments are constructive.
- mickfaraday 6y agoThanks for your comment. Yes, this model hopefully incorporates more of 'what is real' than the alternatives. The hydrogen orbital, for example, is approximately spherical/toroidal, which matches the radial distribution plot of QM. Ionized hydrogen has a delocalized electron; it is not gone — but rather elsewhere. In our model it is enmeshed with the others in the column. Speed is used as a surrogate for momentum because QM doesn't allow us to deconstruct the speed/direction from the momentum separately. Ideally we could illustrate a more cohesive motion as well as faster for greater momentum. Current is transfer of motion from the high-momentum, high-V, shells to weaker ones. I have briefly discussed resistors and other elements of circuit in other threads here. Check it out and let's talk there. Concerning your comment about vacuums, we have to understand that there truly is no vacuum. We assume that when atoms are isolated, their surface pressure is decreased such that they can occupy tremendous volumes. Currents in outer space are present with 8.49×10^-23 atoms per 10 cubic centimeters. Hopefully we can move toward capturing QM, and ED descriptions of electricity. A magnetism video will follow soon.