What is Electric Current?

[@One.Zero.One101]

I've watched about 20 explanations about this and I still couldn't get it. Your analogy and visualizations really help a lot!

[@swagmaster-kp1xn]

Thank you! I’m trying to teach myself more about circuits and electricity, and this was really helpful!

[@darshanchougule5458]

Nice video and now I can visualize how exactly electrons flow in a close circuit. Thank you SparkFun Electronics channel.

[@palak6981]

Incredible! I paused the video to thank you. Appreciation was overflowing.

[@Clearness122]

Bruh. this man is a genius. Our teacher recommended this to us and its very helpful. TYSM :D

[@defaultcolor]

I can’t take anyone seriously when they start a sentence with “bruh”.

[@psd4942]

Respected *Shawn Hymel* sir, I am a student, and literally the way you have teached electricity and electromagnetism is infinite wonderful!❤️ You have given us knowledge in the best way which nobody has ever given to us! In india , teachers don't teach us correctly, they just make. Us gulp the text written in the book. I request you teacher Shawn hymel that please try to teach us more physics like that you did in past(electricity, electromagnetism) I know making more such videos will take a lot of effort! But please try to help, Please reply teacher🙏🙏🙏👍❤️😁

[@BurkenProductions]

Although it's wrong, check veratasiums latest video.

[@sharpzon]

you should put all of these educational videos on a playlist because it's pretty hard to search for them individually among all of the other videos in your channel :)

[@67hutch]

In my opinion, this is by far the best video I’ve found covering this topic. Thank you very much! 😊

[@alandsha7101]

you saved my life sir > besttttt explanation and best way to teach

[@noredineofficiel13]

Best explanation about electricity i ve ever seen

[@ayeshatariq2113]

Was looking for someone who can teach like this

[@cdorman11]

1:19 This is a common misconception. The ball-tube model is not how current arises. The wire remains neutral on the inside because electrostatic forces are too strong for it to be otherwise. Instead, the e.m.f. source spreads its excess charge throughout the circuit. This excess charge spreads to the surface of the conducting material of which the circuit is made. A differential in charge density creates the current throughout the circuit. For instructors, you can read a detailed exposition several pages long in Sherwood & Chabay. Electrons inside the wire aren't affected by surface charges within 3 wire-widths of the electron. There's not enough differential in charge density and not enough tangential component to the electric field acting on the electron. 3-10 wire-widths away is where the electron is getting its motivation from. How do we know? Send 10,000V through a single-resistor circuit and you'll find opposite ends of the resistor exhibit opposite charges. Typical current involve so little surface charge differential that a lot of voltage is needed to detect these surface charges. See here, e.g.: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnO0fpKurJeFnNE Maybe his explanation is fine for fourth grade, but the misconception needs to be unlearned by high school.

[@maiaallman4635]

Very good explanation. I must compliment you on your penmanship.

[@bagoquarks]

As indicated in the video, the ball bearings in the tube analogy represent moving CHARGES, not ELECTRONS. It is very easy for the casual viewer to intuitively assume that 1 CHARGE = 1 ELECTRON, which is FALSE. 1 electron CARRIES a CHARGE of -1, not the same thing. A proton, BTW, carries a CHARGE of +1. Formally, the definition of current is charges moving past a point in the wire, not electrons.

[@rafiashraf2769]

Nice work! Simple explanations helping me understand electricity.

[@habibaelsayed8701]

thank you very much ,this way is amazing and more understandable than the way of our school in Egypt

[@bellasaid525]

Love that video. You are very good. I am from Egypt 🇪🇬

[@YassineBennour-e5r]

Very interesting. I want to improve my English, and in my opinion, I think it's very amazing and fun. I'm very cheerful to learn a lot of knowledges about electricity and electronics. Thank you so much

[@AyeshaZahid-rz9ue]

Thx bro this helped with my homework so much

[@sridharchitta7321]

Also check out this video on Current and the Conduction Process kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHbWiJeabJukrsU

[@Scifiandscience]

Great Explanation!

[@umadevicreations2773]

I really like ur explanation it's great by this we can learn easily thank you very much

[@Peter_S_]

Well done primer.

[@Sarah-tm6jo]

This video helped me understand the physics lesson (Electric Current), you have a great way to explain kinda complicated physics stuff, keep it up, thank you very very much

[@EGVITENGINEERING]

Electric current is the flow of electric charge, typically in the form of electrons, through a conductor, such as a wire. It is measured in amperes (A) and represents the rate of flow of electric charge. In other words, it is the amount of electric charge that flows through a given area per unit time. Electric current is generated by the movement of charged particles, such as electrons, and can be induced by various means, including electromagnetic induction, electrochemical reactions, and thermal gradients. The flow of electric current is governed by Ohm's Law, which states that current is proportional to the voltage applied and inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor. Electric current is a fundamental concept in electricity and electronics, and is essential for powering devices, transmitting energy, and enabling many modern technologies.

[@sanjeevkumarmamidi1885]

It's clear understanding for beginners..thank you

[@kashifrao_381]

Do electrons not move in AC as they move back and forth means oscillate so their net position remains zero, how does current flow in that case??

[@sweetnuthin]

I understood about three words there

[@johnabraham2948]

This explanation of how current flows is to make school kids understand and is overly simplified. Electrical energy is carried by the electric field and not electrons themselves, so in AC circuits, the field (which travels at the speed of light) oscillates.

[@jalenmoses8629]

Ở bên Hàn quốc vẫn ngưỡng mộ sự cố gắng của hai em❤❤❤️

[@yunusnoahoberst1677]

that’s wrong actually! Electrons drift at a very low speed of just a few millimeters per second, and it doesn’t explain alternating current. In fact, the energy doesn’t even travel through the wire and through the electrons, but through the electric and magnetic fields generated around the wire. It’s so intuitive and surreal that everything we thought we knew about electricity and very single electricity Video is physically wrong, and also fascinating that such a simplified explanation can still accurately describe and predict nature, but it’s alle wrong. I recommend watching veritasiums video on that matter, it’s truly mindblowing.

[@magnus49]

I agree that Veritassiums video was mindblowing, but personally I found it too short, a bit "sensationalist" and not detailed enough. I found some videos on "The Science Asylum" channel that actually did a better job at explaining what's going on. But I still don't fully understand what's actually happening when I flip a switch, and perhaps I never will, despite having a high school electronics major and working in tech...

[@nonsay9111]

I recommend watching deez

[@HamzaAli-rq6fj]

the question is: when the charges move from one point to another then what happens?? by which phenomenon does the electric energy created?

[@mdmahmud4475]

Great explanation

[@BubblesPothowari]

Lucid. Visual. Logical. Crisp. Thank you !!!

[@physicsforallanniefreeda8909]

Good explanation with apt example.

[@sherazkhan2802]

As we know , these are the electrons which flow through the wire , then why don't we call the negative potential as a higher one because it will push the electron to go through the wire ....and the electron will thus give out energy when they move towards the poditive terminal. Why do we call positive potential high and negative potential low ? Do we always have to take a positive test charge as a reference ?

[@mishiakbar5556]

Thank Youuu so Muchhh♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ For an awesome video☄

[@jasmeenkour8292]

Great teacher👍🙏🙏🙏👍👍

[@amansales4226]

I like the explanation 😊😊

[@stanleywoodhouse7282]

whos here doing school work from home

[@sweetnuthin]

this is the only comment that is recognisable English

[@vivepc3210]

I am. We're probably from different schools.

[@karlasuarez18]

🙋🏻‍♀️

[@sweetnuthin]

@@vivepc3210 this is true, there are a lot of schools in existence

[@chocolate1151]

Gang

[@manikandanpalanisamy1008]

Sir, Every force has equal and opposite force, in an circuit connected by an battery, the electron from anode of battery, PUSHES electron near by(in the conductor) , that near by electron pushes it's near by electron, this chain of pushing, ENDS at CATHODE , while PUSHING, the electron from anode will DECELERATE. But in formula of drift velocity, this deceleration is not included..... WHY? (if I am wrong correct me SIR)

[@konjitdemere5898]

WOW! Thanks sooooo much this was super helpful

[@samsesay9526]

wow this video really helped me keep making more videos spark electronics because they will really help kids around the world, i am eleven and i understood it because of the waay you explained it to me, keep up the good work!

[@johncom1971]

Nicely explained. Thank you.

[@acostaacosta37]

Bài somewhere (July) rất hay, mong một ngày cô hướng dẫn bài này

[@rajan246]

I feel less thick for having watched this. My thanks to you!

[@fjb1854]

So do electrons flow from the positive terminal?

[@charismaticj3972]

Yeprr

[@LinuxLuddite]

Give me one good reason why I should send my kids to school when he/she could learn this from such beautifully demonstrated videos in KZbin?

[@benlee3545]

Hi SparkFun, you explain very clearly how electrons flow thru a wire. May I know how electrons flow in a light bulb and when energy becomes light, how electrons have energy to move across the circuit?

[@marcellinnkenlif9044]

i'm better understanding now by your explication

[@BloodySocrates]

What about positive charges in the battery

[@محمدضياء-ف8ق]

They just receive electrons to back as a normal atom

[@AddinRoyale]

After watching your intro i forgot everything. Thanks!

[@kebedeshogile818]

Thank you for your lecture! One simple question! since current is the flow negative charges, do really electrons revolve around the the circuit? How we can describe this movement of charge?

[@BurkenProductions]

No it's not the electrons it's the electric field around the cable.

[@KhalidFawzy]

Simply amazing!

[@electronicengineer9032]

Nice video 👌

[@reinerbraun898]

Really helped! Thanks!

[@aquiIa_chrysaetos]

Joseph Joestar dear god

[@parikibandlavyshnavi9068]

Superrr...! Explanation😊😊

[@prabhukumaryadav1747]

Very good

[@lukaskapinga4411]

On how to connect series circiit and pallal?

[@OptimusPrime96]

When battery can't produce voltage? Can I say that when excessive electrons on negative side fills the deficit electrons on positive side? Can I say like this? Please help me..

[@monalisapanda6143]

Sir please answer me. whose electron move in this wire.

[@lalremruata544]

Both the electrons present in the wire and the electrons present at the negative terminal of a battery.

[@johanariff1460]

Definitely very different from Drude's theory of current flow in metallic conductors.

[@kennethcohan9630]

Johan Ariff they are all just analogies anyway, in an attempt to explain the maths. So I wouldn’t be too worried about that...

[@kirubaxavier4558]

Sir what is 1 coloumb?

[@spiritualscientists3932]

●1 coulomb = 6.24×10^18 electrons charge. ●1 electron = 1.602×10^ -19 coulombs of charge.

[@sweetnuthin]

isn't it like the charge in a cloud or something no clue

[@leenamohanad2882]

That’s excellent 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@محمديوسفالمزين]

ياريت تشرح 3 ثانوى كاملة

[@ZihanZhou-yf8hq]

Could anybody tell me does a higher current means that the electrons flow faster?

[@faizmalik9210]

The formula for current is i = n.e.v, where n is no. of electrons passing through the wire per second, e is electronic charge, and v is drift velocity of the electrons. So, a higher current can mean many electrons moving at some low speed (for a copper wire), or a just involving a few electrons but moving at a very high speed (for a superconductor).

[@electron-1979]

I hate counting all those coolumbs

[@atheistaetherist2747]

So electricity is the flow of electrons in the wire then why does the electrical force travel at the speed of light in the insulation covering the wire (say 0.6666c km/s), or if no insulation then it travels at the speed of light in air (say 0.9999999c km/s). How do the smart electrons in the wire know whether there is insulation or not. For the answer google Ivor Catt or Forrest Bishop.

[@colza1025]

Thank you. This helps me a lot.

[@maliniupadhyay1698]

Sir your video is nice

[@elliotskunk]

but what happens when all the electrons get to the positive end? do they go backtothe negaetive?

[@ShawnHymel]

In the case of a battery, the electrons are used in one or more chemical reactions: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3alaIGMdpylf5Ym30s

[@mariellem.940]

Awesome! I understand ur explanation, it helped a lot. Hope i pass.

[@specialschoolacc7397]

what is a amp or a coulamb

[@irinabonney1721]

The head in a jar is straight out of silence of the lambs.👍

[@LukasHigasi]

Bro looks like he is going to say erm actually

[@edi123gotlieb]

The explanation with the battery and marbles is flawed. It implies that the electrons flow through the wire because of excess electrons at the negative terminal of the battery (which isn't entirely wrong) via some sort of diffusion (high density wants to even out) - which isn't true. The electric field which propagates through the wire from one end of the battery to the other (much faster than any movement of electrons) is what causes the electrons to accelerate.

[@sengelbr]

Edi is spot on, we need a better analogy that teaches the proper concepts behind "electricity". For example voltage is usually portrayed as "pressure", implying that there's less and less pressure "pushing" electrons around after each load in a circuit. Electrons would start piling up after each load and never make it to the other terminal! (We know the current in a circuit is the same throughout the entire circuit - there are as many electrons leaving the negative terminal as are arriving the positive terminal!) We often talk about (and diagram) the magnetic field around a wire, but almost _never_ talk about the electric field around a wire. This field, unlike electrons, moves at the speed of light and causes the electron movement as Edi points out. We also don't really explain some of the physics behind simple circuits. A circuit with just a resistor and a battery generates heat; where does that energy come from? Are electrons converted to heat and disappear from the circuit? We know that the current after the resistor is the same as before the resistor, so electrons aren't disappearing. What is getting converted to heat? A light bulb creates photons.....how does that happen? It would be awesome if someone accepted the challenge of explaining what "electricity" really is and how voltage, current and resistance really work.

[@KarthikKarthik-db9zc]

sengelbr help me understand plz.any nice video available ?

[@sengelbr]

Karthik, Just what "electricity" is entails a very significant discussion of physics, and for most people (even professional electricians!) the water analogy and Ohms Law is enough of a workable model to enable them to do their work (even through it is completely wrong!). Many "electricians" and circuit designers would be in disbelief if you told them that, for instance, electrons move on average a couple of inches an hour (in a DC circuit; in an AC circuit they wiggle back and forth and never go anywhere!) Even if you've lived in your home your entire life its probably the case that the actual electrons from the power company from when you moved in _still_ haven't arrived at your home yet! Or that the _energy_ in a circuit actually travels just _outside_ the wire! That's right, the _energy_ from your power company lighting that bulb in your living room travels on the _outside_ of the wire in the form of EM pulses. (Fun fact - in coax cable the energy travels in that insulator between the two conductors!) There is also a whole separate discussion of the physics that occurs _inside_ the wire...how electrons build up in the bends of a conductor to form a "guide" for the other electrons for example. Its amazing that even today we teach about a thing called "electricity" (there really is no such entity) and describe it as electrons traveling from one terminal of a power source to the other and apparently this "powers" a motor or light bulb. But in reality when you close the switch on a simple circuit with a battery and a load a lot of very cool phenomena all happens at once. There is an electric field generated; current begins to flow and creates a magnetic field (that intersects the electric field at exactly 90 degrees everywhere!), both of which set up the Poynting Vector (outside the wire) which describes the unidirectional energy flow from the battery to the load. The electrons continue to circle around the circuit, but it is the (Poynting) _energy_ flow which is unidirectional (from both ends of the battery) into the load which powers the load. (Although electrons move very slowly, this energy flow moves at the speed of light!). You may want to google "Poynting Vector" which will lead you to many references such as en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poynting_vector ; another good starting point is amasci.com/miscon/energ1.html . Also, once one better understands all this phenomenon the concept of radio waves and antennas becomes much clearer!

[@shaliniaggarwal1836]

Edi Gotlieb but this is not about what causes them to move rather how they move generally

[@wbeaty]

try amasci.com/ele-edu.html Also, batteries are charge-pumps. But in their drawing, they treat the battery as some sort of capacitor, and never mention that the path for current is *through* the battery and back out again. The tube full of balls should extend through the battery. Or at least, let the human fingers transport metal balls through the battery. (Or better yet, don't use a battery, instead use a dynamo, where its electromagnet coil is also a wire full of movable balls.) In "most circuits" the current is electron-flow. But their diagram shows the exact situation where non-electron currents exist: INSIDE BATTERIES. Also, in this video they make the same error as all other introductory battery explanations. Every book you can find will pretend that the battery is an insulator, with the "used electrons" piling up inside the positive end, and with zero current going through the battery electrolyte. Why? Why do it this way? It's not because it's correct. In fact, whenever there's an ampere in the circuit, there absolutely must be one ampere in the battery electrolyte. It's a closed-loop current. The circuit is completely closed and circular, and batteries always act like a zero-ohm short. But no intro book ever mentions this. Why? It's not because the explanation was written in stone centuries ago. It's probably because of Stephen J. Gould's "Creeping Fox Terrier Clone" effect, where teachers get all their information from earlier grade-school textbooks, rather than from basic science or from non-gradeschool adult classes in those topics. Then they write new textbooks; copying the old ones but with a few errors added. Over many decades the errors build up. (Besides "Fox-terrier clone," it's also called "The Game of Telephone.") So, if one textbook author from seventy years ago makes a mistake, that mistake will eventually appear in all future textbooks? Yep. It sounds impossible, but the forces creating and preserving the errors are just that strong. If one major textbook author in the distant past had never realized that current goes THROUGH batteries, if they instead believed that the positive terminal could store up a collection of hundreds of coulombs of electrons ...then all future teachers will make the same mistake. The wrong explanation will "infect" hundreds of future textbooks, and eventually the error will become built-in to English-language science education, and end up in any youtube educational video featuring circuits and batteries.

[@krishnakumari1909]

why we are saying current is a flow of electrons my doubt is in the conductor holes are moving that you say conventionl current so in the circuit the current flowing directions also marking from positive to negative and holes are moving so why we are not saying current is a flow of holes (or) charges

[@afaqhussain0202]

very helpful video

[@georgemathew8218]

Good. Well Explained Sir.@

[@jondhuse1549]

Ah yes, peas in a straw... very tiny peas...

[@supriyaganguly1775]

A very good video

[@manikandanpalanisamy1008]

Please clear my doubt sir

[@RPD001]

My teacher got me here

[@ex-muslimraj8652]

Except the common sense that electrons cannot move that way, if they did then the element of the wire (here Cu), would change! Won't it?

[@playstore-hp1vk]

its a very nice video

[@playstore-hp1vk]

why we use the conventional current direction though we now know the reality

[@sarjeetkumar5898]

Sarjeet kumar

[@YourLifeWasting]

So current is the flow of electrons

[@chocolate1151]

Love that video very important

[@sinchanask6941]

Really good

[@snehasathe5998]

Thanks Shawn Sir

[@soyoymilk]

What does this video explain? I need help ;-;

[@elams1894]

Unfortunately, it doesn't explain anything. There is no such thing as an electron. There is no evidence whatsoever that an electron exists, no experiment, no observations, nothing. Modern science has rammed it down our throats and few question it. There is no such thing as charge. No one has yet explained charged nor provided any evidence of its existence. Absolutely zero is flowing through a copper wire. Current does not exist. Current is merely the mathematical relationship between voltage (magnetic field) and resistance. Electricity is only a word that describes the attributes of a magnetic field and is not a thing in and of itself. The only thing that is occuring in a conductor is the induction (coupling) of a magnetic field. Simple as that.

[@Jayden-mn9vm]

@@elams1894 well actualt there is evidence mate.

[@Jayden-mn9vm]

it's just a charged electron moving from one atom to another. Thats a really simple definition btw but will get u started :)

[@soyoymilk]

@@Jayden-mn9vm ah thank you

[@Jayden-mn9vm]

@@soyoymilk your Welcome but theres a little more to it. If you watch the vid again it might make more sence this time.

[@b_l_e]

Thanks now i understand

[@jerrytate3697]

I thought for sure current flow from negative to positive

[@cdorman11]

Electrons flow from negative to positive. Conventional current flows from positive to negative. Electrons are physical. Conventional current isn't.

[@अग्निमित्र-द8स]

👍👍👍👍👍 love it's thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@wmursai]

So the light 💡will be turn on😮

[@nonsay9111]

Ochy?

[@nildajulian784]

What tagalog of electric current ????!!

[@AbnormalWrench]

My fridge has no electronics.

[@ShawnHymel]

Not even a light bulb and a switch? :(

[@AbnormalWrench]

"Electronics typically refers to solid state components. A calculator is one, a traditional flashlight isn't

[@ShawnHymel]

Fair enough. Looks like some modern refrigerators use active components, but older ones stick to things like switches and relays. I don't think even my fridge counts as having "electronics" :)

[@manikandanpalanisamy1008]

Sir, The electron affinity of AIR is NEGATIVE..... then how come the AIR OPPOSES THE ACCEPTANCE OF ELECTRON...,.?

[@latte_4408]

The only video that I understand :D !

[@tedcrilly46]

so current is both speed and quantity.

[@prabhukumaryadav1747]

Super very good