4 ms·
Forgive my nitpick but power generation doesn't generate electrons it pushes existing ones around, very slowly. Highly recommend http://amasci.com/miscon/whatis
by blabitty 6y ago
Forgive my nitpick but power generation doesn't generate electrons it pushes existing ones around, very slowly. Highly recommend http://amasci.com/miscon/whatis.html http://amasci.com/miscon/whatis.html to anyone interested in discovering how inconsistently electrical concepts are defined and taught.
- epistasis 6y agoThat was an especially unfortunate typo in a post riddled with typos. I will stand by my use of electron arbitrage though.
- Ono-Sendai 6y agoI don't think you are correct. For electricity to propagate at near light speed, electrons will have to move at near light speed, if only for a short time. Or to be a little more precise, shape changes in the electron wavefunction will need to propagate at near light speed. I think we can do this to electrons because their mass is so low. This only really applies when a circuit is opened or closed however. Once a circuit reaches a stable state (voltage is unchanged) the electrons don't move fast, I guess.
- StillBored 6y agoNo, he is correct, its the wave that propagates at a fraction of the speed of light (depending on the conductor). The electrons themselves don't move very fast. "An electron travels at a speed of about 1 cm/sec. " (in copper) per: https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2916283&seqNum=4 https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2916283&seq... This should be taught in a basic AP physics class in HS (where i initially heard it). I vaguely remember doing some of these calculations in my physics for engineers class as a first year engineering student too.
- Ono-Sendai 6y agoThat article is probably wrong too. A changed electric field requires a change in the position of electrons. Hence a fast signal change requires fast position changes.