How do electrons flow in A.C.?

Answer 1

Even in D.C., the electrons don't move that fast, maybe just an inch per second or so. It's the EMF or voltage that is transferred along at almost the speed of light.

In A.C., they pretty much just stay where they are and jiggle back and forth, since the direction of current reverses 50 or 60 (make that 100 or 120) times a second.

Answer 2

Imagine a pipe the diameter of a billiard ball and ten miles long. Fill it with billiard balls. Push a ball hard at enough at one end, and a ball will instantaneously fall out at the other end. The pressure of the push = the voltage applied, and the billiard balls = the electrons. This is an complete idiot's guide, obviously, but I hope it gives the general idea, that electrons don't "flow" as such. A.C. just means alternating current - the process is reversed many times a second.

Answer 3

I'm sure somebody would like to quote you a scientific terms here to your question and my answer as well. but i'm trying to make it easy to understand, not show off. If i use capital letters it does not mean i'm shouting either.
the answer to this not so difficult. read on.AC means alternating current.
all that means is the flow of current changes directions. how many times a second it changes direction is the frequency. say for instance in the United States the power to your house from the power pole is 60Hz. Hz stands for Hertz, the guys last name who they would like to recognize. Hz has the same meaning as cycles per second. so 60 times a second the electron flow changes direction. the amount of electrons flowing at any given time is the current.... current is the flow of electrons. electrons flow from a negative source, to positive .in real meaning from a lesser potential to a higher potential. like a car battery electrons flow from negative to positive. Some will disagree and here is why. conventional theory says current flows from positive to negative. actually holes appear to move from positive to negative. the reason is when an electron leaves its home and moves forward, it leaves a hole or empty space where it was. as it keeps going you can visualize, that holes move one direction as electrons move the other. This is what confuses people. Now there is the electron theory where electrons move from negative to positive which IS correct. If you were to think of a dam full of water,( with no more water coming in),as a storage device like a battery. The height of the dam (is the voltage). the amount of cubic feet that is backed up by the dam( is the amp hours). Place a pipe below the dam to let the water out (current flow or electron flow when the water is moving) If you need more water or more (amps) let more water out. nobody said anything about the diameter of the pipe. we are getting too far off here. the truth is you cannot have an electron flow without a load.(a device that completes the circuit like a light bulb or motor, that has a connection at the negative terminal goes through the device and back to the positive terminal).So the more current you use the faster the battery will be used up. as for the dam, you can keep letting water, depending on you backup of water or cubic feet (amp hours) is how long the battery will last. Once you used up your backup supply of water the water in the dam starts to go down just like the voltage in a battery.amp hours is the same thing as one amp for one hour. if you had a 500 amp-hour battery you could use one amp for 500 hours. or 5 amps at 100 hours, before your battery is considered not usefull. Oh I know what about AC? AC is like you hooking up a device to your DC car battery and switching the leads you had on the negative terminal to the positive and the positive to the negative terminal. how fast you can do it, is the frequency. oh by the way electrons move at almost the speed of light when there is an electron flow.
reason it isn't the speed of light, the conductor slows it down a bit.so top speed is around 95-98% unless its a super conductor.
when cutting antenna elements and coax cables to length, the speed of the electrons need to be factored in. usually multiply .96 or whatever the value is stated by the manufacturer for velocity. by the length of coax or antenna element to get the proper actual length you need.
since the person above stated he had a degree, i thought i would as well. A.A.S degree in electronics and 37 years in electronics as a hobby as well as a advanced amateur radio license. the advanced catagory is not available anymore. enough said

Answer 4

Electrons do no longer follow a as we communicate line in a conductor, for dc or ac. One particular electron does not ultimately finally end up vacationing the size of the conductors in one direction for dc, yet somewhat it forces yet yet another electron out of an adjacent atom, and so on. For ac, the electrons stress electrons out to the two direction of the conductor, and lower back, the electron by using no ability travels the entire conductor circuit, just to adjacent atoms, and new electrons from those adjacent atoms create new electrons from neighboring atoms.

Answer 5

electrons flow from negative to positive in a Caterpillar like way.
a.c. is switching at 50 times a second (50Hz) the idea Behind this is so that voltage can be stepped up or down easier, for distribution.

Answer 6

Back and forth.
No, I'm not being sarcastic. Alternating current has the polarity of the charge constantly switching. When the polarity is one way (for example, the high peak of the sine wave) it causes the electrons to flow one way, and when it switches and reaches the low peak of the sine wave, the electrons are flowing in the opposite direction.

Answer 7

The flow of electrons depend upon the # of electrons within the valance shell of the atom. The permeability of the conductor is dependent upon this. Electron flow is from negatively charged ions to positively charged ion within a circuit of applied voltage.

Answer 8

Yo, deh go back and forth, plus den minus, like a wave to be cool with the resistance.

A.C. From Wikipedia:

An alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave, as this results in the most efficient transmission of energy. However in certain applications different waveforms are used, such as triangular or square waves.

Used generically, AC refers to the form in which electricity is delivered to businesses and residences. However, audio and radio signals carried on electrical wire are also examples of alternating current. In these applications, an important goal is often the recovery of information encoded (or modulated) onto the AC signal.

Answer 9

A.C mean alternating current so they flow alternately

Answer 10

They actually don't flow. They vibrate, never going very far at all.

So the power company doesn't actually sell you their electrons. They just shake the ones you already have. That shaking can run motors, computers, electric heaters, etc.

More info:

http://amasci.com/miscon/speed.html